Sage of Fists
by Kurogane7
Summary: AU: Naruto has been taken out of Konoha to be raised by a wandering sage. What will happen now that he has knowledge of Hokuto Shin Ken at his fingertips? Hokuto! Naruto. Pairings undecided, but very likely harem. Rated M for future content.
1. Return

_**A/N: New pilot episode…as usual, whether not it has potential will be dependent on what you think. So do read and review would you kindly?**_

…

[Hi no Kuni wilderness, shortly after the Kyūbi attack]

It'd been roughly three days since the Kyūbi attack, and a sense of normalcy was starting to return to the land…all things considered, things could've gone worse in Hiruzen's opinion. After the outrage of two days prior, there was no way he could trust the village with young Naruto's safety. He revealed the truth to the current generation, thinking he could believe that the people would not allow their hatred of his tenant to cloud their judgment. While the majority of the village was too set in its hate to be trusted with Naruto's safety, he did have a solution on mind.

"Hokage-sama, why are we traveling this far into the wilderness?" asked a kunoichi. She held a bundle in her arms, carrying a sleeping Naruto as she and seven ANBU accompanied Hiruzen. She wore a snake mask on her face, marking her as a member of ANBU herself.

"We are going to see someone that I know and trust, Hebi," he explained, "With all that has happened back in the village to young Naruto, we cannot raise him in the village. The only problem is that he is a long-distance traveler; he's not guaranteed to be at our destination, but I'm counting on my friend being there."

"Who is he anyway?"

"He's a wandering sage."

"A sage?" asked Hebi, disbelief clear in her tone. "Are you talking about that pervy toad?"

"As much as I'd like to ask Jiraiya to take up the responsibility, the man is operating a spy network; putting Naruto in his care would endanger him more than just leaving him in the village," explained Hiruzen, turning to face Hebi. "And before you ask, Tsunade was my next choice…I'll admit, there's a chance that putting Naruto in her custody would do her some good; that being said, it's way too risky with her drinking and gambling. And it'll be a cold day in hell if I allow Danzo to take Naruto in, especially after seeing what the man has done to his own ROOT operatives."

"I can see why." Hebi agreed, "Every time I pass by them, they give me the jitters. Seriously though, what can you tell me about this sage?"

"He is one of the deadliest men I'd ever met." answered Hiruzen, "The first encounter was on a mission to save a farming community from a bandit army. He'd arrived in the village shortly after we did, asking for alms. Needless to say, as soon as he found out we were hired to stop the aggravated assault by the bandits, he chose to stay behind to help with the defenses. In my youth and pride as a genin, I didn't see anything special about him; to me, he was just a big brute posing as a sage. Also fueling my hubris at the time was the fact that I couldn't even sense any chakra from him.

"Anyway, Tobirama-sensei brought us all to begin the assault the next day. It all went well, considering we found their base of operations. What we didn't know was that the bandit leader had already sent his forces to ransack the village. After dealing with the scumbag, we rushed on back to the village, only to walk into a slaughter."

"A slaughter…?" asked Hebi, "How bad was it?"

"Oh it was bad; for the bandits." answered Hiruzen. He took Hebi's silence as a sign to continue on. "The entire bandit army was killed to the last man—their bodies had shown evidence of having exploded. Eyewitness accounts had stated that the sage had successfully defended the village single-handedly. They also stated that he rapidly tapped each bandit on various parts of the body, before they all exploded…as though explosive tags went off in their bodies."

"Wait a minute…they all exploded from the inside after he tapped them all? Well what happened to the sage?"

"After the whole mess with the bandits, he left the village." explained Hiruzen, "I haven't been able to see him for quite some time, but we've had several encounters throughout my life. He wasn't exactly the talkative sort, but I came to know that he was a rather nice guy…so long as you didn't push his buttons. I came learn that when I was a Chūnin, assigned to help assassinate a Kage-level nuke-nin…the sage was there, walking away from the target as he exploded in a shower of blood and gore."

"If he's that dangerous, then what makes you think you can trust him?"

"If we find him, you'll have to see for yourself. And we're in luck, he's here."

The party stopped at a massive temple, standing at least two stories tall over a clearing. Hiruzen opened the door, beckoning for the ANBU operatives and Hebi to follow. Sitting on the altar was a gigantic Buddha statue, flanked on both sides by ferocious kongorikishi statues standing guard. Before the statues was a lone, hooded figure with his back to them. After hearing of the capabilities of this sage, they were all on guard around him. The Hokage however, approached calmly; his confidence was borne from knowing the man quite well.

"It's been quite a while, hasn't it?" asked Hiruzen, coming to a stop behind the man.

"Indeed it has," answered the sage, his focus still on his hands, "though I suppose this is not a friendly visit if you've come to find me yourself."

Curiosity had gotten the better of Hiruzen, compelling him to walk closer. A look over his shoulder revealed that the sage had a wooden sculpture in his brawny hand. He was carving away at the finer details with a small chisel, as the block of wood took on a very familiar form. The sculpture was of a saintly woman that seemed to exude a sense of serenity, as though all the sins weighing down his soul were lifted with her forgiving half-smile.

"Is that Kan'Non?" Hiruzen guessed.

"Very observant, I see you have a good eye," replied the sage, his focus on the carving. There was a sort of meditative feeling as his chisel went to work. "I am making it for someone that died recently. So what brings the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato to this neck of the woods?"

"I've come to ask a favor of you."

The sage's silence beckoned Hiruzen to continue. "I would like to ask that you raise a child."

"Can you not find a home for the child in your village?" asked the sage. Hiruzen said nothing, his silence speaking volumes. "I take it there's a reason you can't."

"I can't tell you much, except that I fear for his life."

The sage sighed, placing the Kan'Non figurine on a dais. "He's the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Yoko isn't he?"

Hiruzen turned to stare the sage, shock written across his face. "Don't look so surprised, I'd heard about the Kyūbi attack in a nearby village just two days ago. The fact that you won't speak of why you fear for his safety is also a dead ringer as to who he is."

"Do you have any ill will against the Jinchūriki?" Hiruzen asked, his voice taking on an edge.

"No, I don't hate them," the sage replied simply, "in fact, I pity their fate…my hatred instead goes to the foolishness of people that abuse them."

"You're not the only one who feels that way." Hiruzen added, "Sometimes, I too wonder if Hashirama-sama made the right choice in allowing the other nations to have the Bijū. So, will you take him in?"

There was a moment of silence before the sage stood up, and turned to face Hiruzen. At his full height, he was at least a head taller than the ANBU escort. He had an aged appearance about him, and the muscles that rippled across his body only served to make him look even more intimidating. The sage pulled down his hood, revealing piercing eyes that served to intimidate the old Kage and a head of black hair greyed out with time. His features were angular, but still chiseled out even in his old age; with his appearance, he would have no trouble in keeping a woman by his side. In short, the sage was an old-timer that wasn't to be taken lightly. "Let me see the child."

Hiruzen motioned for Hebi to come forward with young Naruto in her hands. The sage gently lifted the blanket on the baby's face, studying his features carefully. "Such a pity that an innocent child would be burdened with such a fate," he noted, turning to regard Hiruzen. "Does he have a name?"

"It's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."

The sage sighed. "What would you have me do?"

"Raise him, spend as much time as you can with him to ensure he is brought up proper," answered Hiruzen, "All I ask is that you bring him back at the age of nine so that he can attend the Ninja Academy. I promised his father that he would grow up to be a fine shinobi of Konoha, and that's a promise I intend to keep."

The sage shrugged. "I suppose it's only fitting. It's plenty of time for me to teach him."

"Will you do it?"

"I see no reason why not," the sage answered, "the road of a wanderer is lonely. It's times like these that a friend is always helpful."

Hiruzen nodded to Hebi, who seemed reluctant to let the child go. The sage gently took Naruto in his brawny arms, watching as the Hokage and his entourage left the clearing. "You will be a worthy successor, Naruto. I will see to it that you will use its teachings well to bring peace to these lands."

…

[Konohagakure no Sato, nine years later]

The vibrant colors of greens, whites, and reds brought life to the flowers as they bloomed with the onset of Spring. The chirping of birds only served to make it clear that life was beginning to return to the world. Overall, a good day for Hiruzen to laze about with a pipe in his mouth…puffing his stresses away before being forced to go back into the piles of paperwork on his desk.

It'd been a good nine years since he'd entrusted the sage with raising Naruto, and the village had gotten a lot quieter. Well, barring the growing corruption taking root in Konohagakure no Sato's business world. There was word that the civilian business owners were trying to undermine his authority, but he was unable to get any proof of foul play. Combine that with rumors of criminal activities going on under his nose, and Hiruzen began to wonder what the point of reprising his position as Hokage was.

Still, there were some perks to taking up the mantle again…for one, he could smoke indoors without his daughter-in-law around to bother him. That, and he could enjoy free goods wherever he went. But above all, as long as he was Hokage, he would have a say in village affairs to make sure those civilians knew their place.

There were three sharp knocks at his door, breaking Hiruzen from his reverie. He sighed in frustration as he sat back up. "Come in."

"Hokage-sama, you have a guest." said the secretary, fidgeting as she closed the door behind her. The look on her face was what Hiruzen had associated with fangirls.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Some old man who said you came to see him nine years ago," she explained. "He's like…your age, except hotter!"

Hiruzen had a fair idea as to whom she spoke of. Though he wanted to be certain he was on the same page as his secretary. "Did he come with a child?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact."

"Then let them in Kotone, I've been expecting them for quite some time now."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

The door was opened, allowing both the sage and his charge to enter. The sage had not changed since he was last seen…much to Hiruzen's envy; but that was not what really got the Hokage's attention. That honor went to the blond boy that stood next to the sage, wearing a minimalized outfit built for speed: brackish-blue cargo pants were tied down at his ankles just above his sandals, likely to cut down on air resistance; an orange tank-top was worn over his chest, showing roughly six years' worth of hard training on his body. On his hands were a pair of fingerless gloves with reinforced leather palms for a stronger grip and hardened plastic knuckles to protect the fists. Around his neck was a string of large, hand-carved prayer beads that sagged in front of his chest. On top of it all, the most distinguishing thing about the boy were the three whisker-marks on each of his cheeks.

"And how are you today?" asked Hiruzen, knowing exactly whom he was looking at.

"Fine, sir," answered Naruto, "It's just that it's the first time I ever set foot in this village."

Hiruzen smiled, simply glad to see the baby he'd left in the sage's care had grown up so well. "I'd like to speak with you again after the Academy," he said, his eyes taking on a very sly glint, "speaking of which, I'd hurry or you'll be late for your first day of the Academy."

Naruto's eyes had shrunk to pinpricks with realization. Hiruzen allowed his grin to widen, his expression promising more mischief. "Well? What are you waiting for? It's downstairs, behind a pair of metal doors. You can't miss them!"

After a few awkward seconds, Naruto quickly bowed before bolting out the room, leaving a laughing Hiruzen behind. With the two of them left behind, the Hokage allowed his laughter to settle as he turned to regard the sage. "How has life been for him?"

"We've been living very modestly, as far as being on the road is concerned," admitted the sage, "given time, he will be a fine shinobi for your village…albeit, a very specialized one at the moment, but a fine shinobi nonetheless."

"Specialized?" asked Hiruzen, "You mean to tell me you've taught him in your taijutsu style?"

The sage nodded. "I gave him enough of a foundation to find his own fist. Given time, I am certain he will not only be a good shinobi, but a fine successor to Hokuto Shin Ken."

Hiruzen felt shivers running up his spine upon hearing the name of the sage' martial art. Oh, he'd heard of Hokuto Shin Ken, its bloody reputation as an assassination art, as well as the havoc it was said to have inflicted upon the bodies of its victims. To think I once witnessed this vicious art in action! "Well can we see the results of his training?"

"I'm certain that you will see it shortly."

…

[Konoha Ninja Academy, 10 minutes later]

Naruto sat in the stands with the other students, busying himself with a hand-sized piece of wood he'd found on the way to the stands as he awaited his turn for the 'talent show'. It was an exercise taught to him on the road three years ago, to build up what his teacher called 'hand-eye coordination', as well as to work on his 'fine motor skills'. To that end, he was taught to take a knife and carve the wood into whatever shape he liked, and he had a week to complete each sculpture; for the first few tries, Naruto wound up cutting his hands before learning to be more careful.

As time progressed, and in addition to his training in Hokuto Shin Ken, Naruto was challenged every week to carve his sculptures faster and more accurately. This week, he was challenged to find a subject, and carve it into the wood without looking back at the block as quickly as possible. To that end, his hands worked separately from his body to shave the bark off the wood before he began carving on it.

Many girls seemed to be glomming around a pale, onyx-eyed boy with a duck-butt haircut as he brooded silently. There was a look to Uchiha Sasuke that Naruto just didn't like…which really turned him off about this person. In addition to that, he had no love for his holier-than-thou attitude. _Definitely not a good subject, he thought to himself, besides, way too easy._

Looking through the swarm of fangirls, he thought he'd find a good subject among them, but to no avail. Even though he enjoyed the fact that they all annoyed the Uchiha, a lot of them were way too plain even practice. Although he had to admire the determination of the pinkette and her blonde friend in trying to get the duck-butt's attention, neither Haruno Sakura nor Yamanaka Ino were good subjects. _A shame though…I'd have liked to carve you both at the same time._

Sitting just outside the swarm of fangirls, and enjoying the anger starting to boil over in her fellow raven-haired student was a girl with features not too different from Sasuke's. Her black hair was done up in a bun behind her head, with two of them framing her smooth, streamlined face. There was a measure of mischief in her eyes that made it clear that Uchiha Satsuki was completely different from her older twin brother. _Interesting…and she's in a good pose too. Best to do the twins another day though._

"Hey! Get a load of this dweeb!" said a voice standing above Naruto, interrupting his train of thought. He paused in his reflexive carving to find that it belonged to a burly boy surrounding him with two other boys. One of them had a fair amount of muscle to go with the flab that weighed down his body, and the confidence he carried himself with made it obvious that he was the leader. "What're you doin' with that? Somethin' gay?"

"Just working my brain," Naruto deadpanned, his hands getting back to work on carving the block as he stared back at the lead bully, "which is something you don't seem to be using."

The bully quickly grabbed the knife and block from Naruto's hands. "And you're a dumb-shit for being rude!" he taunted, "although, because it's your first day, I'm gonna be nice and take your gay-ass necklace too!"

"I'd really give those back if I were you, shit-head," growled Naruto, controlling his anger as his prayer beads were taken off his neck. At the moment, all he could do was glare at the bully and his gang.

"Well you're not me, are ya?" laughed the bully. "What, you think your gay-ass necklace makes you stronger? More like it makes you look like a pussy!"

"Uzumaki Naruto?" came the voice of Iruka, interrupting Naruto's train of thought.

Heaving a sigh, Naruto stood up and walked around the jeering gang of bullies as they heaved insults at him behind his back. Even some of the fangirls seemed to join in as he walked down the stands, before coming to a stop next to Iruka and his assistant. Well, at least I get to take my anger out on something. "Iruka-sensei, do you have any boulders around?"

The scar-nosed teacher looked at Naruto with no small amount of confusion. "Not right now, why?"

"I think I lost my prayer beads, so I need a harder target now."

"Are those beads important?"

"Yeah they are," explained Naruto, "they make me weaker, because I don't have very good control over my power yet."

Iruka had no idea what was going on, but shrugged. He rapidly flew through hand seals before planting them on the ground. A few tense seconds followed before a large rock rose from the ground. "There we go. You now have a harder target."

"Thanks." Naruto began to stretch as he walked towards the boulder, coming to a stop within an inch of the man-made rock with his middle and ring fingers perpendicular to its surface. He took a deep breath before punching the boulder with an exhale. Upon making contact with his knuckles, the boulder shattered, pulverizing it before the pebbles began smashing through the forest and shredding a branches and knocking over trees. By the time the force of the blow had died down, a mile-long scar had pointed the way to the Hokage Monument.

There was a tense silence that permeated the stands; nobody could believe what they'd just seen. Even Iruka, who'd seen more than his fair share while on active duty, could not help but let his jaw hang in utter shock. Through it all, Naruto began to rotate his shoulders as he strode towards the stunned bullies. The tone he'd taken seemed casual, but there was a dangerous undercurrent that was directed at the bully. "Can I please have my stuff back now?"

The leader of the bullies began to move slowly, as though any sudden moves would end in his death. His motions had a frightened shiver to them as he first put the prayer beads back around Naruto's neck, before handing him back his knife and the shaved block of wood. Throughout it all, he had a nervous smile on his face that was mirrored by his colleagues, both of whom started curling up into shivering balls…their leader too scared to even move after that. Much to Naruto's disgust, he was pissing and shitting his pants. "Don't you ever do stuff like that again. Am I understood, shit-head?"

The leader gulped and quickly nodded, before Naruto walked away. He did not want to be around the smell of shit and piss as Iruka found the strength within himself to continue the tryouts.

…

[Hokage's office]

He just could not believe his eyes. All that power, and from a punch with an inch of space away from the fist. _There's no way in hell that's Hokuto Shin Ken!_ Hiruzen thought, _That's way too much brute force for that!_

"What you're seeing is the foundation for Naruto's Hokuto Shin Ken style," commented the sage, sensing Hiruzen's skepticism, "it is a variation called Gō no Ken."

"A fitting name, but why does he need a limiter?" Hiruzen asked.

"When I first unlocked his potential, Naruto smashed through three feet of reinforced concrete with a single, gentle push. The amount of chakra that he gave off was instantly absorbed into his muscles, more than tripling his strength by a hundredfold. This made the power-regulating prayer beads a necessity, and I have since been training him to regulate the amount of chakra he can put out. As of now, he is now capable of reducing his chakra output to roughly around jōnin-level."

The implications were worrying for Hiruzen, but he still had a very important question: "How much can he output without his prayer beads?"

"It depends on how strong the opponent is," answered the sage, "but assuming the opponent is of equal or lesser skill to him, Naruto is capable of putting out about the same amount chakra as a Kage in his prime without his limiters. Against a stronger opponent? Even I am not certain."

Hiruzen was speechless; the boy had the potential to be a Kage-level threat. On that note, he was glad that the boy wore his prayer beads. There was a good chance that if he were to spar with a students without them, he would likely be the only graduate. _Still, it was a very interesting prospect to see how he develops…_

…

 _ **A/N: And now we're done with another pilot episode. Do review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Vocabulary**_

 _ **Kan'Non—the Japanese translation of Guanyin, the bodhisattvah of mercy. She's usually prayed to by pregnant mothers, hoping for a healthy birth.**_

 _ **Hokuto Shin Ken—the basic style taught to Naruto. Translated, it means 'North Star God Fist,' but it is usually translated as the 'Divine Fist of the North Star.'**_

 _ **Gō no Ken—Raoh's style, it's usually translated as 'Fist of Power.'**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **Naruto's outfit—pretty much my take on how a monk-class RPG character would look if placed in a modern setting. Here, I pretty much based his outfit after a parkour traceur with gloves that are good for both a good grip and a hard punch.**_

 _ **Naruto's demonstration—the famous one-inch punch taken up to eleven.**_


	2. The Sculptor

_**A/N: I have heard a theory about submitting works on Tuesdays, and decided to give it a shot. In any case, do read and review would you kindly? And keep it classy.**_

…

[Konohagakure no Sato]

After the calamity brought about by the boulder demonstration, Naruto finally found himself a subject to carve. His eyes sent information to his hands, setting them to work unconsciously, working as quickly and accurately as he could. The point of this was to make sure his brain was able to communicate clearly with his body, as some of the more advanced techniques in Hokuto Shin Ken would require him to apply this in the future. It made sense, as it was just as capable of healing, which meant that control was especially important when he was to be taught the more advanced healing techniques; too much chakra and his patient could detonate, while too little could heal the patient too slowly to make a difference.

It was also thanks to this skill that he was able to earn money to sustain himself on the road, just with a tanto-style survival knife. By selling his works on the streets, Naruto was guaranteed to never go hungry; the more accurately and beautifully he made his sculptures, the more money he made. But for him, the more important thing was the training and the ability to see a lot of beautiful things.

And right now, he was carving away at his new subject; both of them. From his position on a tree branch, Naruto watched two girls walking down the street while holding hands. The smiles on their faces was enough for him to begin cutting into the block. Once he was finished roughing in the basic shape, he was free look at the sculpture for all the fine details. _Probably best that I do so now,_ he thought to himself, _I don't want my hands to be cutting themselves up…besides, all the basic shapes are done._

As he began drilling in details with his survival knife, Naruto began to think back on the encounter he'd had with the Hokage…namely with his living arrangements. He was given a key to an apartment near the market district; he'd been there for a bit before he settled in and found quite a few amenities he never had while growing up on the road with his teacher. Plumbing, electricity, as well as the fact that the previous owners left behind a bed, and a television set. All in all, a good place for one person to live.

In addition to the location, he was given a weekly stipend to cover for all expenses such as food and utilities. Unfortunately, his teacher would not be living with him; believing now was the time for him to really walk his own path. That did not mean for a second that he would not be seeing him again; the sage would come back every three months to check up on him for a week or two. I guess now's the time for me to start learning on my own then, neh? Well then, I'll see if I can impress you next time we meet, sensei!

"Well look what you've got here!" said a voice in front of him, startling Naruto from his thoughts. His hands twitched in shock, almost cutting themselves as he was brought out of his meditation. Naruto looked upwards from his carving to have a literal face-to-face encounter with Uchiha Satsuki. As his knife went about carving at his subject, he began to study her more closely. At first glance, the younger Uchiha twin had features very similar to her emo brother…however, it was clear that of the two, she'd taken more after her mother in the looks department given how she seemed a little softer by comparison.

"That's actually some nice work," she noted, studying the sculpture as he continued carving away at it. "In fact, I like the amount of detail you put into it…and it's not even done yet."

"I really must've been lost in my thoughts if you were able to sneak up on me despite my nose," said Naruto, still carving away at the block while maintaining eye contact, "you and your brother."

"Very perceptive." said a voice above him. Naruto didn't need to look up to know that Uchiha Sasuke was glaring downward at him.

"It wasn't really hard; I was just distracted is all," explained Naruto, putting his attention back on his subjects. "The lady here smells like freshly-peeled mikan, and you smell like freshly-sharpened steel."

"You sure you're not an Inuzuka?" asked Satsuki, "What, smell anything you like?"

"Plenty," answered Naruto, continuing to carve away, "Smells aside, what're you two doing looking for me?"

"Me? I just wanted to meet you…nii-san on the other hand…"

"I want you to fight me," finished Sasuke.

"Come again?" asked Naruto, looking up from his subjects at Sasuke. Sure enough, the Uchiha boy was scowling at him.

"I said, I want you to fight me."

Naruto sighed, sheathing his knife at the small of his back. Might as well leave; I've got their image in my mind anyway. "And why would I do that?"

"To truly test my power."

"Not gonna happen," said Naruto, inspecting the progress his sculpture before pocketing it, "Besides, I really have to get home…I'm almost ready for dinner."

Naruto slipped off the tree branch, and began running upon landing. One of the most basic skills taught to him as a practitioner of Hokuto Shin Ken was how to really run; given that it was an assassination art, it made sense that he was taught to navigate any terrain swiftly and silently. It went to the point where he was trained to run so fast that not even a leaf was disturbed as he passed by. Not a single step landed on his heel, instead hitting the balls of his feet to conserve energy.

As he ran through the forest, rolling under bushes and and hopping over large rocks with impunity, Naruto noted that he was not alone; the Uchiha twins were chasing him. Both were in the treetops, leaping over the branches in an attempt to catch up with him. From what he was seeing, Sasuke that seemed determined enough to close in quickly; his sister trailed behind…why she did so, Naruto had no idea, but he simply added more chakra to his legs. The increase in speed was gradual, shortly before it went as fast as he could while wearing his limiters. This was also where his exercises in control came into play, as he was able to react quickly as obstacles came his way without impeding his momentum.

Before long, his vision began to change from the trees and rocks of the park to the concrete buildings of the village.

…

"Yosh! Such a good day for a jog!" cheered Rock Lee as he ran through the streets of Konohagakure no Sato, "If I can't complete thirteen laps around the village by sunset, I'm going to do six-thousand push-ups!"

Rock Lee had been mentored by Maito Gai for quite some time now, and he was already seeing results. At the moment however, he was working up his stamina to be able to keep up with the jōnin's training regimen in the future. _With any luck, I will be put in a team with Gai-sensei,_ he thought, _then I can show the world that you can be a fine shinobi even when specializing only in taijutsu!_

Aside from that, he had a feeling he'd found a worthy opponent in that kid he'd seen punching a boulder and carving a path in the forest. 'Uzumaki Naruto' he thought his name was. Just knowing what that kid did without his 'limiters' filled him with a flame that energized him at the thought of facing down such a challenge. _I will work hard to match or exceed that boy's power so that I can fight him on a more even footing one day._

{Play: "Turbo Lover" by Judas Priest}

People yelling from behind him had caused Lee to look to the side. Running slightly ahead of him with wooden prayer beads trailing in the wind was a form in an orange tank top. Sun-kissed, spiky hair on his head made it clear to him as to whom it was. He never thought that he'd encounter Uzumaki Naruto again this soon. Still, there was a challenge before him as he watched the runner vaulting over tables and rolling under carts without any loss to speed or disturbing people in the middle of their daily lives.

A look up revealed that he was being chased by the Uchiha twins for some reason. Judging by how winded they both looked, and how they seemed to be slowing down, they'd been pursuing Naruto for quite some time now. _Uzumaki-kun's flames of youth are burning bright!_ Lee thought to himself, _Now that I think on it, it looks like the perfect opportunity for a race. I want to see if he'd like to spar one of these days._

Putting more power to his legs, Lee decided to join in the chase, focusing his attention on Uzumaki Naruto. He was going to catch up with him and invite him to spar someday. _No way am I going to miss this opportunity!_

As he began to speed up, Lee watched Naruto leap into the air with his left arm outstretched. A tight grip allowed him to make a quick turn before rolling and continuing his run. Trying to keep up, Lee came to a sudden stop before running after his quarry, screeching to a halt as he tried to keep in pursuit. After regaining his footing, he continued to run after Uzumaki at high speed until he was right next to him. Before he could even say a word, his quarry front-flipped while Lee crashed into something.

As he sat up, nursing his injuries, Lee noted that he'd run into an apple cart. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that there was no damage to the cart or to the driver. Looking around, he moaned in frustration has he realized he'd lost Uzumaki. _I guess I'm going to have to find him some other day then._

Emboldened by the idea of sparring with him someday, Lee continued his jog.

…

[Konoha Ninja Academy, the next day]

It was time for sparring, and students were whispering amongst each other as to who would be sparring against whom. Much of the whispering was about the boy that was whittling away on a block of wood with a large knife in hand. Everyone saw what he'd done with the boulder yesterday, and many were reluctant to fight him even though he was wearing his power-limiting prayer beads. Save for a lot of the boys that thought they could get bragging rights for beating Naruto; prominent of them being Uchiha Sasuke, who was ignoring his fan girls in favor of glaring at him.

As Iruka began calling out names for the next sparring match, Naruto kept jabbing gently at the sculpture in his hands. When he was satisfied with the amount of rough work he'd done, he sheathed his knife before going over every surface with a piece of fine grit sandpaper he'd found discarded at a tool shop on the way to class. This would be a very profitable sculpture; assuming of course, he could even sell his sculptures here in the village. _Best to find more subjects before I even think of selling anything._

While his hands went to work on sanding down the sculpture to soften up the curves, Naruto's eyes were glued on the matches. Quite a few of the students were disappointments in the art of hand-to-hand combat, with shinobi-born children having the edge over their civilian counterparts. He also noted that they all seemed relieved when they found out they weren't fighting him; not that he could blame them. Then there were also the odd shinobi versus shinobi matches that aroused a bit of interest in him.

One of the most even matches he'd seen was Inuzuka Kiba against Aburame Shino. As both were from clans that specialized in the use of ninja-animals, Kiba was required to leave his puppy behind and Shino was not allowed to summon his kikaichu. Still, as the two of them fought, Naruto could see that neither were slouches in taijutsu; that, and he could see the differences in their fighting styles. In terms of aggression and actual taijutsu skill, Kiba had the edge as he kept his opponent on the defensive. On the other hand, Shino was actually a good deal smarter, baiting Kiba into traps where he would fall out of the ring on his own momentum. Kiba's reflexes allowed him to stay in the ring; but he eventually lost the match when Shino finally grabbed one arm in the middle of a punch and actively threw him out. _For what it's worth Kiba, you're an impressive fighter…but Shino's better just for thinking on his feet._

Another impressive match was the lilac-eyed Hyūga Hinata against Uchiha Satsuki. The two girls were evenly matched as far as capabilities were concerned, with the difference being in styles. Hinata was a practitioner of the Hyūga-style Jūken, a martial art similar to Hokuto Shin Ken in that it focused on attacking tenketsu points using the clan's kekkei genkai for better accuracy. Satsuki on the other hand, made do with regular brawling techniques to make herself unpredictable and to keep Hinata on the defensive. The match ended in a draw as both Hinata and Satsuki fought each other to a standstill until the time ran out. _If only I'd had another block of wood, then I'd have carved this fight. Well, maybe next time._

After that came the disappointments. Before Iruka could begin the fight, Nara Shikamaru immediately surrendered to Akimichi Choji…no doubt to the infamous laziness of all Nara men that Naruto had heard about. Out of frustration, he had to concede the match in favor of Shikamaru with a sigh. After that, Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura's battle did not end well for the latter; not a surprise, considering she was civilian-born. That, and it was her first time sparring, which was forgivable; what was not forgivable was that she was complaining over broken nails in the middle of a sparring match. After grabbing her friend by the elbow, Ino threw Sakura over her shoulder and out of the ring. _I suppose it's her karma for focusing a lot on getting Emo-boy's attention,_ Naruto thought to himself, sighing over how quickly she was defeated, _with any luck, Sakura will get better after this._

Once he felt the sculpture was smoothed out, Naruto broke his concentration from the matches to inspect his work. A few treatments of good oil with a wet sandpaper, maybe a coat or two of wax to polish it, and the sculpture of two girls walking hand in hand would be even better. _Now all I have to do is hide it away so some asshole doesn't steal it._

"Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, please come on down to the ring!" Iruka called out, breaking Naruto out of his reverie. He sighed as he set down his sculpture to walk down the bleachers.

As he walked down the steps, Naruto turned to see Sasuke practically grinning with his eyes. For some reason or another, he was going to fight this kid. At the same time, he could hear his fan club cheering him on. Still, not gonna stop me from humiliating his ass.

Before he could take a step towards the ring, Iruka had stopped him. "Naruto, I'm pretty sure it doesn't need to be said, but please hand me your knife."

Naruto heaved a sigh as he unbuckled the knife from the belt at the small of his back, handing it to the teacher as soon as it came free. "Not that I need it to kick his ass."

He walked into the ring, standing face-to-face with Uchiha Sasuke. Thankfully, Iruka didn't ask for his prayer beads; not only would the fight be too easy, but Naruto was certain the Uchiha boy would be splattered upon impact with his fists. He took off his necklace, and began wrapping the prayer beads around his right hand. "So that they don't fall off," he said to Sasuke's unasked question, stretching his body, "especially since I'm planning to tone it down a bit."

"Do you have a death wish?" Sasuke nearly snarled. "Fight me seriously!"

"Impress me even a little and I may consider using my hands."

Sasuke rose an eyebrow as Naruto began to stretch his legs. "Come again?"

"What, you deaf or dumb?" Naruto asked, standing up to stretch his back, "I said 'impress me and I might fight with my hands.'"

"Suit yourself moron," sneered Sasuke, slipping into academy fighting stance, "I'm gonna be the winner of this match!"

Naruto finished his stretches before placing both hands in front of him. "Then stop talking, and start impressing!"

"All right now, that's enough!" admonished Iruka, "You both know the rules; you both have five minutes to end this match. The first to get knocked out of the arena, or to have something other than their hands or feet touching the ground is the loser. We clear on that?"

"Crystal." Naruto answered.

"Hn."

Iruka looked between the two students, his hand raised above his head. Outwardly, he was calm; inwardly on the other hand, he was praying that the match would not end in a death. After a moment of tense silence, he let the hand down with a sharp "Hajime!" before stepping back.

Sasuke opened with a barrage of punches, which Naruto simply backpedaled away from. Using the momentum gained, Naruto planted his hands on the ground and spun around to kick Sasuke from behind. As he skidded to a halt just close to the edge of the ring, Sasuke back-flipped and turned to face his opponent. "I've spent six years training in the martial arts," Naruto said, "you're gonna have to do better than that if you want me to start fighting with my hands."

Sasuke began to re-engage his target only to use both hands to block a jump-kick coming for his face, before jumping over a low sweep. Naruto wasn't done, as he used the momentum of the missed sweep to perform a somersault kick. Sasuke backed away from the last kick, before moving fast to counter; he knew that kicks had the advantage in providing a lot of range and power, but they were slower and tended to leave the fighter open when missed. With his punches moving faster, and using them in conjunction with kicks, he was able to keep Uzumaki on the defensive…until he slipped to the right, got behind and snaked one arm under his, and the other around his neck. "What the hell is this?!" grunted Sasuke, "I thought you said you weren't gonna use your hands!"

"True, I did say that," countered Naruto, his arms squeezing tighter, "then again, I didn't say anything against using my arms!"

After a few seconds, Naruto decided to release Sasuke before gently kicking him in the back with a knee. Sasuke turned to face his opponent with barely contained rage on his face. "You've impressed me a little bit," he said, raising his left hand, "so I'll bring out one hand to fight you with."

Sasuke watched as his opponent switched his stance. Naruto slid his right foot backward, putting weight on it; his right hand was placed at the small of his back while his left hand and foot were in front of him. The two of them circled each other, their bodies tensed and ready to strike. Sasuke continued the fight, rushing Naruto before suddenly weaving around and attempting to attack him from behind. Cottoning on to what his opponent was up to, Naruto quickly turned around and blocked Sasuke's haymaker, intercepted his jab, and finished by backhanding him in the stomach. Certain that he was stunned, Naruto pushed Sasuke to the ground only to watch as the Uchiha grabbed his arm, pulled him forward, and slugged Naruto across the face for his first solid hit in the match before being thrown. Training under the sage had taught Naruto how to take a fall, and so he shifted his weight to land on his hands and feet just in time to avoid being thrown out of the arena.

As he stood up, Naruto noted the triumphant grin on Sasuke's face. "Congratulations, you impressed me," he acknowledged, returning the smile with his own as he slipped into a different stance, "but don't think for a second that means I'm gonna use my full power on you."

"I'd rethink that stance if I were you," taunted Sasuke, "but to be honest, you're not the only one that's impressed. I didn't think I'd find someone my age that could fight me this well, even if they were holding back. Though why don't we make things more interesting?"

"Sell me." Naruto retorted.

"I'm betting I can beat you by the time the clock runs out," Sasuke says, "If I win, you have to teach me the best moves in your martial arts style."

"Fine. But if I win, you have to take one of your fangirls out for a date," replied Naruto, earning gasps and murmurs from Sasuke's fangirls, "and on top of that, not only do I not have to teach you anything, but you're not allowed to ask again. Do we have a deal?"

{Play: "Number One" from "Bleach"}

Sasuke smiled back, breaking his form to bow from the hip. Naruto returned the bow before slipping back into his own fighting stance, both hands forward and his profile minimized. The two of them rushed each other, Naruto starting by pouncing on top of Sasuke and jamming his knee into his opponent's chest. Sasuke was disoriented from the sudden attack, but didn't have a chance as he took a straight kick to the chest that knocked him back. This time, Naruto was on the offensive, continuing the fight by rushing Sasuke, his hands ready for the attack.

As soon as he closed in, Naruto began punching Sasuke rapidly, his arms moving too fast to track without a dōjutsu. Sasuke stood his ground, blocking one punch before deflecting two more. But the punches came very fast, and so a good number of them made it through. That wasn't to say he wasn't able to fight back; whenever he saw an opening, no matter how small it was, he managed to answer with his own punches. The problem was that he was not punching Naruto back enough for it to matter. _I **will** have him teach me this art_ , he thought to himself in between punches, the phrase becoming a mantra to keep his determination going.

Within two and a half minutes, Naruto broke off from the 'slugfest' with one opening in Sasuke's defense, pushing him back with a solid punch to the face. As he began to catch his breath, he studied his opponent's situation: Sasuke was far more bruised and tired than he was, and was almost at the edge of the ring. It wouldn't take much for Naruto to win…but there was a look of determination on Sasuke's eyes in spite of being tired out. _Well, I gotta give him props for lasting this long._

Taking one last deep breath, Naruto moved in with the intent of ending the match quickly without killing his opponent. In the span of one second, he rushed his opponent, wind trailing behind him as he came to a sudden stop in front of Sasuke, and pushed him out of the ring. Sasuke's body fell with his back to the ground, struggling to get back up before he slipped into unconsciousness. Iruka rushed to the scene, two fingers to his throat. "Uchiha Sasuke is unable to battle, Uzumaki Naruto is the winner of this match!"

Hearing that, the Sasuke fangirls cheered…until they realized that only one of them would be getting that date. Naruto sighed in relief as he walked towards Iruka to get his knife back. The walk back to the bleachers was silent as he picked up a new piece of wood to carve on. As he got back to his spot, he noted that his sculpture was missing.

"Looking for something?" asked a feminine voice behind him.

Naruto turned around to see someone with his sculpture in hand. Surprisingly enough, it was in the delicate hands of one of the subjects he'd just carved as she admired it with a pair of distinguishable stark-white eyes. Standing next to her was the other subject in the sculpture. It was one thing to carve a sculpture of the Hyūga sisters from afar, but it was a whole different matter entirely when the artist had to have a heart to heart with them about said sculpture.

…

 _ **A/N: And now we're done. Do review, would you kindly? And keep it classy.**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Vocabulary**_

 _ **Mikan—Japanese for mandarin oranges**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **None yet…**_


	3. Eyesore No Longer

_**A/N: This took a while, but at least it got done. Do read and review would you kindly? And keep it classy.**_

…

[Konohagakure no Sato]

The sparring matches went on as Naruto wondered exactly what the Hyūga sisters wanted with him and his wooden sculpture. It could've been a privacy issue, but he needed to confirm for himself. _Best to see what they want._ "Glad you like it," he said, "though can I have it back now?"

If Hyūga Hanabi heard him, she gave him no indication, humming to herself as she examined the sculpture thoroughly. "Hanabi-chan, can you please give it back?" asked the elder Hyūga sister.

"Don't wanna." she finally answered.

"Hanabi!"

As he watched the exchange between the sisters, Naruto began to take in more details on the sisters. The younger of the Hyūga sisters was a little more rebellious than her elder sister, and it showed in how she refused to dress in the khakis of her clan. That, and instead of a hime-cut, she wore her hair bobbed; she was slightly shorter, and her skin was of a deeper olive tan than sister's and her eyes a purer white. She wore a rich tan cotton jacket that opened up to reveal a coal gray tank top underneath, as well as a pair of off-white pants. Far from the dignified beauty her clan expected her to be, there was a mischief to the younger Hyūga sister that was not seen in her elder sister…a quality that made her very attractive in her own way.

Hinata was the more calm and collected of the duo; in short, she was the responsible sister. Unlike her younger sister's more rebellious outfit, she was dressed more conservatively, her hair going down to shoulder-length; her skin was paler, with a lilac tint to her Byakugan eyes. She wore an open, light canvas hoodie over an indigo t-shirt and pants. It was clear to Naruto's eyes that Hinata was standing out from her family in her own way…not as overtly rebellious as Hanabi was, though it was more accurate to say that her rebellion was much more subtle. Her attractive qualities were more obvious, her slightly more timid nature making Hinata more easy to approach.

Elements from both sisters were shown as they held hands in the sculpture. Granted, the scene was stylized, but their pose as they almost skipped together down the road was genuine. It was meant as a depiction of sisterly love the two of them shared.

From what Naruto understood, they were both born a year apart, but they still worked more efficiently together as though they were twins…especially since Hanabi had proven she was smart enough to be put in the same year as Hinata. They were also very close, with each sister protecting the other. _Truly, a duo that might give me a run for my money one day,_ Naruto thought to himself, _Maybe I can even learn a trick or two from them at a later occasion._ "I'm touched you like my work and all, but is there anything you want in exchange for giving me my sculpture back?"

"Nope! It's such a good piece, I'm planning to keep it!" trilled Hanabi, "Then again, I _could_ give it back to you if you give me something in return."

Naruto sighed. _Well, nothing's for free._ "What do you want?"

"Nothing much, I just want you to meet us somewhere."

Naruto blinked at that. "What for?"

"Ah nothing much…just for you, me and nee-chan hanging out."

Hinata turned redder than a tomato upon hearing that. Naruto on the other hand was stumped. "Are you asking me out?"

Whatever Hinata was going to say was cut off when Hanabi clapped a hand over her mouth. "Of course we are! I just want us all to mingle!"

Naruto thought on the prospect. The way Hanabi kept shutting her sister up sounded a bit suspicious. On the other hand, playing along would satisfy his curiosity. _I really don't have much to lose, do I?_ "When and where?"

"The fountain in the Yamada District, tomorrow after class," Hanabi answered, her cat-ate-the-canary grin wider, "I trust you know where that is?"

"Of course, I don't live too far from it."

"Then we'll see you there."

After letting her sister go, Hanabi went back to her seat with her new trinket in hand. Students that went to see it finally had a glimpse of what Naruto was working on. "I'm sorry about Hanabi," Hinata sputtered, bowing from her waist, "she's always been one to leap before looking, but she means well."

"That's fine, I suppose something good might come of it," answered Naruto, "besides, even if this…date doesn't go well, maybe I can make a few friends in the process."

"D-d-d-date?!" asked an embarrassed Hinata, much redder than she was before, "F-f-f-f-friend?!"

"O-Oi! You okay?" Naruto asked, very concerned for the welfare of the Hyūga heiress, "You seem a little redder than normal, ya sure you're up for it?"

"I-I-I'm fine…" Hinata drawled on, a flustered expression on her face as she shuffled to sit next to her sister.

…

[Konohagakure Yamada District, the next day]

The Yamada District was a place that restaurant-owners never failed to visit for the freshest of ingredients. It was divided into quarters for the products predominantly sold, and was large enough to be a village within the village. The southern end was known as the 'Flour Quarter' due to the fact that grain products were the focus here: Rice buns to stuff with barbecued pork before steaming; buckwheat flour to make soba noodles; corn for a variety of purposes which include soups and glue; even drinks from local distilleries such as high-quality sake, and a rumored new drink called 'whiskey'.

To the east lay the "Game Quarter," where the majority of day-to-day meals were determined by what meats one could buy there. This was often the first place where chefs would come to purchase the staple cuts of beef, lamb, or pork, and perhaps a few chickens. Fishermen also made their livelihood here, selling eel and freshwater perch…though some have managed to get their hands on refrigerated chariots to sell shrimp and goods for sushi. However, the primary reason it was called the "Game Quarter" was because a lot of hunters sold their wares here; venison from freshly-killed deer, wild pheasant eggs, rabbit fur and meat, all sorts of things that were hunted in the wild.

The "Grower's Quarter" in the west was the crown jewel of the district, selling a great many fruit and vegetable products almost year-round. Fresh apples and peaches would be seen with cucumbers and carrots, as regular chefs bought what they could at the last minute. It was also a first stop for travelers, due to the fact that it was known to sell dried fruits and nuts that could keep for a long time. For vegan dishes, this was especially the place for chefs to buy produce from, as well as for many desserts.

To the north was the "Pharmacy Quarter" where spices and herbs were sold in bulk. It was also where chefs had to go to purchase sea-salt from the southern shores. Many traditional medicine doctors (particularly from the Hyūga clan) operated in this area as well, so discounts were given to people with prescriptions shopping for ingredients to particular medicines. Medicinal spirits were also brewed and rectified here both for connoisseurs of fine spirits and those looking for a more effective medicine.

In the middle of it all was a large fountain that intersected between them all. It was plain, pyramidal design to be sure, but it was a clear reference point in the middle of the Yamada District Farmer's Market, being the only fountain in the area. In spite of its reputation as an eyesore, if one were to be lost in the labyrinthine corridors, the fountain in the middle of the district was a good meeting place.

As Naruto waited at the fountain, his hands were at work on a new sculpture, his subject being a striped orange cat with a bow tie, playing around with butterflies. He was carving away on a thick block of wood, waiting for someone to arrive for the past half-hour now. It wasn't long until the scent of lavender and lilac filled his nose among the scent of fresh goods. _Looks like they're here._ "On time for once," came a voice from behind, "Normally, you're rushing and cutting it pretty close. And now you have a new subject."

"Well, it just so happens that I had time on my hands, Hanabi," Naruto replied, carving the last detail on the sculpture with his knife before sheathing it and turning to face the Hyūga sisters. Both were dressed in civilian garb consisting of a short-tailed kimono and thigh-length stockings for Hinata, and a t-shirt and calf-length shorts for Hanabi.

"Don't you think you could've dressed better?" asked Hanabi, looking Naruto up and down. He was still wearing the same outfit.

"Growing up on the road kinda makes the clothes you have a lot more important," answered Naruto, "Besides, I've just moved in a few days ago and looking to get new clothes anyway, so why don't we get to it?"

The three of them left the Yamada District, heading towards the clothing shops. The first order of business on the clothes-shopping was to find practical outfits for Naruto so that he didn't have to wear his current attire all the time. Cargo pants and shorts and t-shirts for the Academy and beyond, some regular pants and shirts for whenever he was not in school, and a tracksuit for a little more variety when going to class.

Hanabi took the opportunity to drag Hinata with her to try out clothes in front of Naruto. Summer dresses, Winter coats, even what appeared to be a civilian girl's uniform for the Autumn. They were all very good choices in the shop; especially since the sisters seemed to have the natural ability to bring out the full potential of any outfit they wore. _I wouldn't be surprised if they can hold someone's attention just by wearing nothing but an apron._ Naruto blinked. _Wait, what? Where'd that come from?_

Once he was done shopping, their purchases were put in a sealing scroll for convenience. Naruto decided to take a stroll with the Hyūga sisters down the streets of Konoha. Eventually, their walk had taken them to a tea stand where Hinata bought an iced honey lemon tea for Hanabi, a warm green tea for herself, and a red tea for Naruto. Each had a stick of dango to complement the tea. "So where'd you come from?" asked Hanabi.

"I was told I'm from Konoha," answered Naruto, "it's just that after I was born, I was raised by an old sage. We've been living on the road for the past nine years, training in the martial arts and seeing a lot of things."

"Is that how you learned to carve so well?"

"Yeah. My wood-carving is training to get my brain and my body to talk to each other much better…though I will admit, it does give me a lot of beautiful subjects to look at."

Hinata and Hanabi were awkwardly silent at that, turning red. This time, it was the elder sister's turn to speak. "Y-you think we're beautiful?"

"Of course you are," Naruto admitted, "don't get me wrong; you're both beautiful in your own way, no matter what you wear. It's just that your love for each other is what makes you even more so. Just by being beautiful inside and out, and loving each other so much is why I picked you both as my subjects."

"And what about the cat?" Hanabi asked.

"I really liked the way she looked playing with the butterflies, so happy and carefree," explained Naruto, "that, and I wanted to try out a non-human subject. But so far, I think you two are the best I did."

Hinata blinked silently, her response being a shy, "Oh, thank-you."

Deciding to change the subject, Naruto finished his dango before starting on his tea. "What about you two? You both seem really close."

"We're sisters, and we really love each other, there a problem with that?" Hanabi asked, taking on a defensive tone.

"No, I ask because I'm an only child," Naruto deflected, trying to defuse the situation, "come to think of it, I don't have any parents, much less a brother or sister. I just wonder what it's like to have siblings."

Hanabi would have uttered an apology, had Hinata not decided to step in. "Hanabi-chan and I aren't exactly perfect, but we get along quite well. I guess you could say we've been inseparable since she was born…"

As Hinata left her sentence in the air, Naruto had a feeling he'd touched a sensitive spot. "Is something wrong?"

"Our mom died a while after I was born," answered Hanabi, as she placed her hand on Hinata's, "Hinata pretty much raised me when dad was too busy."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, you didn't know."

Naruto allowed the sisters a moment of silence to remember their mother. "Anywhere else you two wanna go?"

Hanabi looked thoughtfully up at the sky, contemplating their next move. There was a good ten seconds of silence before she settled on a thought. "Why don't we go to…"

Naruto raised his hand. "Someone's coming, and they're moving fast."

Hanabi and Hinata looked at him curiously. Hinata was the first to ask. "How do you know?"

"My nose is pretty sensitive," answered Naruto with a sigh, "that and I could smell the sweat of someone running in this direction in combination with their natural scent of herbs. Judging by how fast he's running, he should be here in a bit."

Sure enough, someone landed just in front of them. As he took a swig of his tea, Naruto took a moment to study the intruder. He wore a pair of beige shorts and a tan shirt; around his head, he wore a white hachimaki that covered his forehead. Like Hinata and Hanabi, he had a very feline musculature, but his white eyes were a dead ringer for his relation to the sisters. "Hinata-sama, Hanabi-sama, I've been looking for you," he said tersely, his gaze almost focused on Hinata, "your father has sent me to remind you both to come home."

Naruto noted that Hinata seemed to wither under the Hyūga boy's glare. It was as though He would have said something had Hanabi not beaten him to the punch. "We'll come back after we finish our tea then," she sighed, a faux regal tone in her voice, "but if you look upon my sister like that again Neji, I will have your eyes gouged out."

There was no response from Neji, but Naruto saw a thinly veiled layer of defiance in his stance. "I shall do well to remember it."

"You know, it'd be a lot more believable if you'd _actually_ put in the effort to even _sound_ sorry," Naruto admonished, "what, you think you're so high and mighty that you can talk to someone like that?"

Neji turned to regard Naruto with a dirty look. "Silence peasant, this is not your problem."

If Neji were trying to melt Naruto with his glare, it wasn't working. The blond boy casually took a deep swig of his tea before glaring back. "You're intimidating a shy girl with the most hateful stare I've ever seen, when she's been nothing but nice to me…I'd have to say it _is_ my problem."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Neji challenged, "I've seen you in class; and my friend just won't shut up about you. You of all people should know that fighting is not allowed among students. Aside from that, I've seen your little demonstration two days ago; aside from your power, you're nothing special. Any shinobi can demonstrate the amount of power you gave off."

Naruto chuckled. "First off, that demonstration without my beads making me weaker? That was an _extremely_ light punch compared to the amount of power I can _really_ put out." Neji didn't seem impressed, though Hinata and Hanabi were nervous at the implications. "Secondly, I know we're not supposed to fight outside of sparring matches; so why don't we see who's better in a different way?"

Neji grunted dismissively. "Waste of time."

"Well why don't you meet me at the fountain in the Yamada District, and we'll see about that?"

There was a tense silence between the two boys. Neither Naruto nor Neji intended to back down, until the latter shrugged his shoulders. "What do I have to lose? I'll show you that you are fated to lose."

"We'll see about that."

The walk to the fountain was filled with awkward silence as Neji kept his gaze straight ahead. Naruto had no intention of revealing his idea to anyone, nor did he reveal to anyone that he picked up the scent of mitarashi sauce and fresh sake following them since the tea stand. The subtle hint of white plum perfume and the sound of the steps made it clear that the person following them was very likely a woman. _Looks like we've got someone interested._

The four of them came to a stop at the fountain, drawing quite a few glances in their direction. Both Naruto and Neji turned to face each other as they neared the basin. "Now, we're here," said Neji, "how do you intend to see which of us is better?"

Naruto smiled. "Glad you asked; we're gonna beautify that fountain." Everyone nearby had heard that claim, turning their heads in Naruto and Neji's direction. From then on, word began to spread throughout the Yamada District. "Here are my terms: we each take opposite sides of the fountain. We have one hour to sculpt away at our sides of the fountain. Before that, we have a ten-minute grace period to figure out what we're going to do. Now you're probably thinking it's too lopsided in my favor, so hear me out: I've never worked on solid stone before, so that makes things more even for you. And if that's not enough, I won't even be using my knife; we're just going to use whatever tools we have on hand…which means, you're free to use chakra to make your sculpture as you like."

"And how will we judge whose sculpture is better?" asked Neji.

"I think I can answer that," answered the woman that had been following the Academy students to the fountain. Her violet hair was done up in a ponytail, and she looked upon the group with steel-gray eyes. Under her trench coat, she wore a fishnet suit that hugged her curves, as well as a brown skirt. "The sexy and all-powerful Mitarashi Anko reporting for duty."

"A pleasure," said Naruto, wondering what to make of this woman, "but what do you know about art?"

"Not much, but there are some impartial people here that may have a good eye for it…right 'Nai-chan?"

From out of nowhere, a black-haired beauty with black hair and reddish-brown eyes appeared from the midst of the crowd. She appeared to be in her twenties, and wore a white dress with round patterns at the hem that complemented her pale skin. Adding to her allure was the bloody lipstick she wore. "Yūhi Kurenai, jōnin-level shinobi."

"Seeing as there aren't too many cultured _or_ impartial people in this village, I may as well enter in this exercise." The speaker that walked in was a man in his forties, dressed in fine silks. The stark white of his eyes made it clear that he was a Hyūga, but the way he carried himself was of a man with authority. Upon closer inspection of his features, Naruto guessed that this man was very likely Hinata and Hanabi's father. "Hyūga Hiashi, head of the Hyūga clan."

"Well who are you to talk about culture!?" shouted a voice that approached from the direction of the Grower's Quarter. It belonged to a woman with brown hair and chestnut eyes in her forties. Something about the woman seemed familiar to Naruto, although it was very subtle. "Yamanaka Asako, it's about time something was done about the fountain!"

Seeing who the judges were, Neji could only nod in agreement. "What are the stakes?"

"You win, I'll grovel at your feet and beg you to be my master," explained Naruto, "on the other hand, if _I_ win, then you have to make daily trips to the local monastery, where you'll have to donate money _very_ generously. You'll keep on doing this until I tell you to stop."

As he offered his hand to shake, here was a very confident smile on Neji's face. Naruto could practically hear him saying 'there's no way I'll lose to him!' as the two of them shook hands. Once they broke off, Naruto unbuckled the knife from the small of his back before he and Neji sat at the north and south ends of the fountain respectively. Naruto sat in the lotus position, meditating as he began to sculpt the image in his mind; Neji on the other hand stared in thought as to what he was going to carve.

After ten minutes of thoughtful silence, Naruto and Neji took their positions; prepared for their attack on the fountain, their feet in the basin. At this point, Anko had started off a stopwatch that counted down from one hour. Naruto kicked off the contest by forming his fingers into claws, and reinforcing them with chakra as he began to carve away the basic form with his bare hands according to his mental image.

Once done with making the basic shape, Naruto began to clench his hands into fists to begin refining the shape. The power behind each punch sent rocks into recess behind, smoothing out the hole in the process. Still, he had to be careful; too much force and he would very likely destroy the form he had in mind. Other than that, he planned to spend no more than twenty minutes on the basic shape.

With the basic form completed within fifteen minutes, the next step was to harden his index fingers, and begin poking and scratching in the details. At this point, control was paramount; especially in the facial area as he worked in the finer points of the face, the hair, and the headdress, which was why he did the head first. After that, he began to work on the clothing of the woman he was carving out as he made her recline on a platform. He wanted to tone down on the body mass, as he was trying to make this woman look very non-threatening…welcoming even, especially with the emotion her half-smile was supposed to convey. Either way, he was thankful he was able to finish the roughing-in of the basic form early; this gave him extra time to hammer out the details as he started using only his index fingers to carve out the finer details as best he could.

Five minutes left; now was the time to smooth out his work. With light amount of chakra and dust lining his hands, Naruto began to go over every inch of the carving, making sure to smooth out every curve. From the arms and face, to every crease on the minimal clothing she was wearing, everything had to look smooth for this woman's beauty to truly come out.

"Hour's up! Time for the judges to inspect your works!" Anko announced.

Naruto and Neji stepped back, allowing the judges a modicum of space to perform their inspection. Naruto decided to move in to have a look at his opponent's work. Neji's subject was rough compared to his own sculpture, but it was well-made in its own right. It was a majestic tiger on a mountain peak, its mouth open and roaring, and ready to bite into its victims. Simple, but that simplicity gave way to more subtle complexities, such as the fact that the stripes were carved in and darkened…as well as the musculature of the tiger. _Not bad,_ Naruto thought to himself, analyzing the sculpture, _I guess while I was busy punching out all the details, Neji immediately went to work on his end._

"Nice work," said Kurenai, admiring the sculpture, "you've caught the essence of the animal in your carving. Though I have to ask, why a tiger?"

"It was the first thing to come to mind in ten minutes." Neji answered simply.

"I can see the fine details," added Hiashi, stirring up Neji's pride with every nod, "I can tell you've used Jūken, to carve this; sending spikes of chakra out to pierce the rock at high speeds to make your shape. The fact that this thing is really smooth is a testament to what one can do with a Byakugan and a Hyūga's reflexes."

"Not only that, but I can see the clouds lining the bottom of the mountain peak," explained Asako, "you, young man, have got talent."

Neji said nothing; instead, taking the round of applause coming his way.

"Now for Uzumaki Naruto." added Anko, bringing the judges to the opposite end of the fountain.

Naruto's carving was of a woman sitting on a rock; her clothes were light, revealing a young and beautiful body underneath the sheer silks she wore. She also wore a special headdress of a bodhisattva that held up her long tresses. The expression she wore was a half-smile that exuded an aura of mercy and compassion to those who looked upon it. There was no question that this was a statue of Kannon, the bodhisattva of mercy and compassion; it was no surprise as that particular one was depicted as a man or woman depending on the artist. What _was_ surprising was the expression of abject shock that was on Hiashi's face upon seeing the facial features of _this_ Kannon statue.

"Hitomi?" Hiashi asked in a haunted voice.

"Actually, it's how I pictured Hinata would look if she grew up," explained Naruto, "given what I've seen of your daughter through what little time we spent together, I figured she would make a good model for Kannon."

Hanabi had a gobsmacked expression before she turned to Naruto. "If Hinata-nee is Kannon, then which bodhisattva do you see me as?"

Naruto gave her a half-smile in response. "When I decide to carve using you as a model, that will be a surprise."

"That's a wonderful piece of work," said Kurenai, "though why Kannon?"

"I was thinking of something an old man told me once, while I was on the road," answered Naruto, "he was a funny-looking guy that smelled like toad oil and sake. He was pretty funny, but he was also wise; he asked me why my sensei carved sculptures of Kannon so often. I told him that he did it so he could pray for her to bring mercy to everyone suffering in the world. He laughed and said something like 'were it so easy.'

"When I asked him why, the old man told me that what caused suffering was hate…that as long as humans exist, we will always have hate in our hearts. He also said that if we want to stop suffering, we've got to fill our hearts instead with love. The only problem is that with so many things we love, we cannot help but have hate in our hearts for others.

"I then asked him, if love is what can stop suffering, then isn't mercy something that can help along the way? He laughed and said that's why it's so hard; with so many things people keep doing to each other, it's hard to find it in ourselves to forgive each other. So I guess I wanted to take up my sensei's share of the burden in praying for mercy, one way or another."

Kurenai looked to Naruto in thought. "I suppose it's a fitting theme for this work," added Asako, inspecting both works, "as a matter of fact, both carvings complement each other in that both are opposites. You have Kannon, who is the paragon of mercy, and the tiger representing wrath…all in all, I think both carvings are very good pieces."

"So judges, take a moment to decide…" Anko declared, her words getting cut off by Kurenai gently raising her hand for silence.

"There's no need for me to decide; Naruto's Kannon sculpture is a clear winner," said Kurenai, confident in her choice. "There was clearly a lot of thought put into it."

"I second that," added Hiashi, "as good at craftsmanship as Neji turned out to be, his sculpture is plain by comparison…the Kannon on the other hand, shows much more skill behind it in spite of it being the first time Naruto has worked with the medium."

"I will admit, it was a hard choice for me," explained Asako, "and I say this because both of you did very fine sculptures; however, in the end, it was Naruto's Kannon that sold the fountain for me."

Neji's eyes widened in shock; he never thought he'd ever be defeated in anything. Naruto turned to walk towards him. "Remember Neji, we had a bet; starting tomorrow, you have to go to the temple daily…and donate generously."

As Naruto walked away to escort Hinata and Hanabi to their father, Neji looked at him from behind. The glare he leveled at his back promised no end to the pain he would dish out. "I swear, Uzumaki; you will pay for this."

…

 _ **A/N: Bar none, the longest chapter for this fic yet. Do review, would you kindly? And keep it classy.**_

…

 _ **Vocabulary**_

 _ **Mitarashi sauce—a sweet, brown sauce that is usually spread over dango.**_

 _ **Kannon—Another way to spell Kan'Non; she's the bodhisattva of mercy and compassion.**_

 _ **Bodhisattva—people call them 'gods', but in reality, a bodhisattva is more like a Buddhist Saint. They have worked to become a buddha, and are almost there, but chose to delay their ascension to help other people find enlightenment.**_

…

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **None yet…**_


	4. Predator or Prey?

_**A/N: Shorter than usual, but you can chalk that up to eagerness to submit. In compensation however, we're getting a new character in the story. Do read and review would you kindly? And keep it classy.**_

…

[Konohagakure no Sato, several weeks later]

As Iruka lectured on in class about the history of the village and the past Hokage, Naruto's hands went to work on a different medium. Due to complaints that were fired his direction for leaving wood shavings on the classroom floor, he was no longer allowed to carve in class (not even to sharpen his pencil). This time, his hands began making use of the pencil and paper he had on hand to draw what he was seeing whenever he was not taking notes on the more important points on the lesson. In this case, it was Iruka in the middle of his lecture on the past Hokages.

 _I'll admit, Iruka-sensei's got a lot of passion when teaching this subject,_ Naruto thought to himself with a silent yawn, _the only problem I have with it is his delivery._

"…Naruto-kun! So glad you could volunteer!" called the voice of Iruka, snapping Naruto out of his reverie and drawing, "Why don't you tell me who it was that founded our village?"

"Well, according to what I've heard once, Konoha was founded by Senju Hashirama and some guy named Uchiha Madara, the former of whom became the Shodaime Hokage," answered Naruto, drawing many stares in his direction from shock…particularly from the Uchiha Twins. "What? I wasn't always on the road, I stayed at a monastery until I was five!"

"Okay then, you're correct," said Iruka, completely unsure of himself, "Let's keep going and…"

Before Iruka could say another word, a shinobi wearing a bear pelt headdress had appeared in the window before running up to him. Because they were whispering, it wasn't clear to the other students what they were saying; but Naruto was able to catch snippets…something about a new student. Iruka could not contain his shock, that he could not help but raise his voice barely above a whisper: "This late?!"

"It couldn't be helped," answered the shinobi in the bear pelt, his voice still a whisper, "she was thrown in at the last minute."

Naruto decided to tune out on the conversation for a moment, deciding to see if they were telling the truth. Focusing all his senses on his nose, he began to subtly take in the air with every breath he took. _Okay, let's see…yep, there_ is _a new student here today,_ he thought, _and judging by what I smell, it's probably a girl wearing camellia oil perfume. Though why the hell am I smelling sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal in the mix?_

Iruka sighed in frustration. "Class, we have a new student coming in today. Now she's not from the village, so please be nice okay?"

This earned him many murmurs of curiosity.

"A new student? This late into the first month?"

"I wonder who it is…?"

 _Smells familiar actually,_ Naruto thought, analyzing the scents, _Okay, I know that sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal makes black powder for fireworks…so who do I know that smells like she bathes in the stuff?_

"Class, I'd like for you to meet Saika Sayaka."

Naruto's eyes widened upon hearing that name. He turned his attention to the doors behind him, watching as a girl walked into the classroom. Her cropped hair was a creamy blonde, with a pair of large, round glasses that framed electric blue eyes. Pale skin and a slim appearance spoke of a life spent indoors in the upper crust of society…and her forehead was almost as large as Sakura's. She wore a stark white kimono top made of canvas over denim short-shorts and a striped shirt. Around her wrists and ankles were a set of high-tech metal bands. There was an angry scowl on her face that spoke volumes of how much she didn't want to be here, looking down on many of the students in the classroom. In summary, she had a demeanor of a cute, but disproportionately mean cat.

"Not one word," Sayaka groused, sitting right next to him, "and don't fucking turn around. I don't want to end up like those fan-bitches down there with the duck-butt monkey."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Naruto rested his head on his hand while his hand continued to draw his subject. _Well hello to you too,_ he thought wryly.

…

[Hokage Tower]

Hiruzen sighed to himself as he looked through the file. It quite a bother, getting a new resident in the village. And as if the heavens weren't done screwing around with him, that new resident just so happened to be a member of the Saika Clan.

Back when he was a genin, Hashirama-sensei had told him the history of the Saika clan. In the days when shinobi were barely starting to find their place in the world, and the world still fielded samurai as their main fighting force, the Saika Clan started off as a collection of angry peasants, monks, and lesser daimyo who wanted things to change. As shinobi kept getting more prominent throughout the battlefield of the old days, the Saika Clan eventually became one their most credible threats hands down. Their secret to success in that conflict, apart from their fanatic belief in the Buddhist tenants, were weapons that were capable of devastating armies in combination with the clan's marksmen, as well as advanced technology.

Nowadays, the Saika Clan were still religious, just not as fanatic as they were in the time before the first Hidden Villages. From what Hiruzen had heard, the entire clan had become very interested in scientific research and cutting-edge technology…to the point that their village was effectively a gigantic laboratory and factory. The only contact they had with the world outside of Tetsu no Kuni were in the form of building inspectors, a few clergymen traveling to spread the good word, the rare mercenary, and the billets of high quality steel they manufactured and traded on a regular basis.

According to the letter that came with the file, the Saika were looking to send someone to test out the concept of 'transfer students'. That, and they were also hoping to end years of isolationism and join the world at large. The Daimyo approved of the experiment, under the condition that the transfer student were to join the shinobi forces. _Not a problem at all,_ Hiruzen thought to himself, rubbing his temples, _now if they'd have just sent her here a lot earlier, it'd have been a lot easier on me!_

Any hopes that the day would be any easier were cut short after thoroughly reading the file. The transfer student that had been sent to his village was the daughter of this generation's Magoichi. From what he'd heard, the head of the Saika Clan always took on the name of Magoichi as a title of honor. One earned that title by being a very efficient leader, and a visionary in the field of science and technology…it also helped that they were very good shots too. _Honestly, I feel like I'm being toyed around with for my bad deeds in another life!_ Hiruzen thought to himself, _As if it weren't bad enough that I've got a late transfer, I'm getting a late transfer that's the daughter of a clan head! I mean, what could be worse?!_

"PREPARE TO DIE OLD MAN!" came the shout of the last person Hiruzen wanted to hear at the moment. Konohamaru had burst through the door with a wooden kunai in his hand.

 _And so it begins…_

…

[Outskirts of Konoha, after school]

A high branch in a tall tree gave a good vantage point for spying as Naruto watched Hyūga Neji walking towards the monastery. The expression on his face spoke volumes of how much he hated coming to this place; as though the monks there were beneath him. _You'll get your bad karma soon enough for that attitude._ Naruto thought to himself.

A few days after their bet, he decided see if Neji was upholding his end, so Naruto followed him around from a distance after class. Much to his disappointment, the asshole just went home…without so much as _stopping_ at the monastery. It was clear to Naruto that Neji needed incentive to actually _visit_ the monastery, and so he took two days to study the layout of the Hyūga compound. On the third night, he made preparations before infiltrating the compound and setting traps throughout Neji's room. The next day, Neji came to class with his clothes dyed in girly pastel colors.

He would continue to prank the arrogant Hyūga for the next three days straight until he was forced to go to the monastery at his uncle's suggestion. It was a donation to pray for Naruto's death, but at least it was something. In Naruto's eyes, it was totally worth getting cursed to ensure that Neji had been going to the monastery regularly and donating money there. _With any luck, he'll be a much better person for it._

Satisfied that Neji was going into the monastery, Naruto slid off the tree trunk and landed lightly on both feet. As he began walking towards the edge of the forest, he heard the sharp, but light ringing. Heaving a sigh, he reached into his pocket to pull out a handheld radio with a blinking display that read "104.9." As he pressed the button, he had a pretty good idea who was calling. "If I had to hazard a guess, I'm in your sights again."

" _You do realize that stalking is illegal, right?"_ came the voice of Sayaka from the radio.

"Yeah, well I bet against the bastard that he'd go visit the monastery if I beat him in an art contest," answered Naruto, "I beat him fair and square, and he had not gone to the monastery even once. Bastard just wouldn't go until I pranked his ass for a few days."

" _What do you hope to achieve by doing that?"_

"I don't know if it'll help him any, but I'm hoping that making him more spiritual will make him stop looking at his cousin like she's a criminal."

" _Heh! He'll probably need you to beat it into him, I figure."_

"Something I'm praying will not be the case."

" _Well, praise the fucking Buddha on that."_

"You _do_ realize your mom will kill you for blasphemy, right?"

" _Not like she can say anything to me this far away."_

There was only one reason why Sayaka would call him on the radio. Though Naruto had a pretty good idea what was going on, he needed to confirm it for himself. "I suppose you want to play 'sniper-tag' again?"

" _Ee-yup."_

"No head start as usual?"

" _None whatsoever."_

"Then that means the usual rules still apply."

Without warning, Naruto began to sprint out of the woods. With his senses sharpened, he sidestepped away from a small and fast object heading in his direction with no loss to momentum. Experience had taught him to follow the trajectory of the projectile…though he knew better than to believe for a second that Sayaka would go _this_ easy on him. _If I know her as well as I think I do, she probably has something to help her make faster follow-up shots._

Prior to meeting her, Sayaka had boasted that she was the best shot of her year. After a year of hard training under the sage, Naruto claimed that she was not the best shot. Eventually, the two of them came up with a game with rules as follows: there was going to be a hunter and a prey. The hunter had to land one shot on the pre to win the match; if the prey touched the shooter without getting shot once, they won.

Naruto's danger sense had told him to move faster. At the sound of a loud 'bang', he dove off to the side and into the alleyway just in time to see a small spot of ink where the shot had landed. He could tell that the last shot was a lot more carefully aimed, and had chakra in it. The sound of his radio going off filled the air as he took a knee. " _Just like back in the village huh, Naruto?"_

One of Sayaka's quirks during these sniper-tag matches was that whenever she ran out of ammo, she liked to banter with Naruto. "You and I remember the village quite differently."

" _Like…?"_

"For one thing, there's more people around."

" _Heh…well, it's gonna get harder on you."_

As annoying as these random 'sniper-tag' matches were sometimes, they did the both of them a favor. It trained Naruto on his reflexes, forcing him to dodge projectiles at high speed. On the other side of the spectrum, Sayaka was given a worthy opponent to truly test her clan's marksmanship skills on. Either way, it forced the both of them to also use their minds and think on their feet. For Naruto, he had the opportunity to train up on his ability to sharpen his senses to track down Sayaka and know when he was being shot at. Sayaka however, had learned the hard way to always reposition whenever possible, and to prepare meticulously unless she wanted Naruto to find her more easily.

In this case, Naruto was able to tell he was close by the fact that the last shot was a lot more accurate…even for a final shot. His tactical sense had told him that she would very likely have repositioned by now, though he knew that she was staying closer than normal this time around. What's more, there were eight shots carefully lined up on him before she started bantering, which added to his calculations…

…

[Sayaka]

Watching through her scope, Sayaka knew that her prey was in hiding…and that it was very likely he'd cottoned on to where she was currently sniping him from. Instead of the sniper's more patient long-ranged approach, she decided to experiment with more aggressive tactics that bordered on mid-ranged combat.

Still, she needed to up her game if she intended to beat Naruto this time around. Luckily, the new rifle she built allowed her to get in closer. It was shorter, which made it lighter and enabled her to make quicker follow-up shots; however, it was _because_ of its shorter length that she had to fight in closer ranges. _With any luck, it won't get any closer than this._

Luckily for her, she had technology and her clan's kekkei genkai to help her. _For once, I will thank my ancestors for loosening up a bit and mingling with shinobi,_ she thought to herself, _if not for that, he'd probably hand my ass to me easily. All I've got to do is wait for him to fuck up first…_

Sayaka had her rifle trained on the alley Naruto was hidden in. She didn't want to get in too close; she knew how fast he could move, and a Naruto on an adrenaline rush was something she didn't want on her hands. At the same time, staying too far away would give him plenty of cover to hide in.

After a few seconds staying in place, Sayaka face-palmed herself. _Shit! How could I fuck this up?! Hokuto Shin Ken is a fucking ansatsuken! Its practitioners are expected to be sneaky-ass mother-fuckers! This means that Naruto's probably…_

…

[Naruto]

Naruto climbed the windows of the building swiftly and silently. He'd taken the long way around, walking into a building without giving her a chance to fire at him. There was no doubt in his mind that Sayaka was repositioning herself at the moment. Still, he needed to get there quickly before he lost the trail.

He peeked his head over the ledge, having a look at the currently empty rooftop. Naruto knew there was something off about the situation, slowly pulling himself over the ledge to sit on it to analyze the situation. Sayaka's scent was all over the place; and there was a glint in the air. _Great, she set up trip-wires. Gotta hand it to her though; she's really good at setting traps…though where would she be hiding now? Well, I guess I've got another trick up my sleeves._

Naruto heaved a sigh and tipped over, allowing gravity to do all the work for him. There was only one place where he could hide, without being found by Sayaka…

…

[Sayaka ]

Sayaka watched through her scope as Naruto allowed himself to fall backwards. "Oh, no you fucking didn't!" she muttered to herself.

She ran to the ledge, looking downward. Apart from normal citizens going about their daily lives, there was nothing going on. All there was that grabbed her attention was a horse-drawn cart carrying a pile of hay. Something about it rubbed her the wrong way; until her suspicions were confirmed when she noted that there was a subtle human-shaped indentation in the pile. _You thought you could hide from me with a civvy watching? You've got another thing coming!_

Readying her rifle, Sayaka made to pursue the hay cart. She followed it from the rooftops, refusing to come down as she kept her sight on the hay. If things got too close for comfort, she had a few more tricks up her sleeve…and a few weapons. Either way, she was prepped to handle Naruto no matter the range.

Things were going well as she followed the cart, watching as the farmer asked for directions before turning around. Sayaka kept following it, freezing when she saw it disappear into a particularly crowded location: the farmer's market. _Shit! That's his fucking kind of hiding place! Too many places for him to hide,_ she thought, before grinning wickedly, _then again, that's why there's a tracer in his rosary. If he's upping his game today, I might as well do the same!_

Sayaka pulled a round device out of her pocket and fit it over the left lens of her glasses. As the computer came to life, the surrounding area was represented in dark blue for buildings, while roads were shown as cyan lines. The blinking yellow dot showed her current location, while the one in red highlighted Naruto's as it moved around throughout the district. _Gotcha you sneaky bastard!_

She followed the red dot, watching as it moved throughout the district. Naruto was going to force her to get even closer to confirm he was in the area. The red dot stopped moving at a constant pace, changing to be more relaxed and casual. Still, she knew it was far from an excuse to be careless; in sniper-tag matches, Naruto preferred crowded places like these as his stomping grounds. From here, it gave him more advantage to hide away in the mass of people, as well as a better view of where she was. If he knew she was trailing him this closely, he'd move quickly to catch her before she even fired a shot.

After a few minutes of trailing the red dot, she noted that it finally stopped. _I have you now!_

Sayaka scoped in, catching sight of her prey sitting at a fountain with his radio out. The ringtone broke the silence, causing Sayaka to respond. "Last words? I'm fucking touched."

" _Back at the Saika Village, you never really lasted this long. Though I'll admit; I never thought you'd be brave enough to follow me_ this _closely."_

"Yeah, well four years of practice and building shit works wonders."

" _I hope you realize you're not the only one that got stronger."_

Sayaka chuckled. "What kind of dumbass do you take me for?"

" _This round is far from over."_ Naruto reminded.

"Yeah? Well tough fucking luck, I'll make you pay this time around."

" _Famous last words."_

"Yours, not mine."

Naruto simply sat there at the basin of the fountain, pocketing the radio. As he waited, Sayaka's finger twitched, sweat trailing down her face as her nerves fired faster than normal. She took a deep breath and held it to steady her rifle, as the next shot would decide everything: if her bullet struck true, she'd win the match; if it missed, Naruto would have plenty of time to run up to her and engage her in close-combat. To add to his humiliation, she would shoot him in the balls.

A few tense seconds passed before Sayaka pulled the trigger. With her kekkei genkai giving her the ability to manipulate the bullet, she kept focus to ensure it struck true. If he dodged, she could just curve the bullet to hit him.

Just as the bullet was a few inches from his body, Naruto's hand moved up quickly and caught the bullet between his middle and index fingers before he flung it right back at her. Sayaka rolled away, before recovering in an attempt to regain her target. All there was left of Naruto at the fountain were the snacks he'd purchased, which meant that he was on his way. _Oh shit._

Sayaka dropped her rifle, and reached for the double-barreled shotgun holstered at the small of her back the second Naruto vaulted over the ledge. As she readied herself to fire it two-handed, he knocked it away the second she pulled the trigger. Her right hand went for the handgun holstered at her right leg, only for it to be knocked out of her hand and pointed at her face.

There was a victorious grin on Naruto's face as he held Sayaka at the business end of her own handgun. She could only smile nervously at the insulting situation she found herself in. "Uhhh…mercy?"

Naruto's answer came too quickly for her liking. "No."

Then came the pull of the trigger…

…

[Naruto]

Sayaka crumpled to the ground in front of him as the bullet hit her square in the forehead. Her body gave a few more shivers before it settled. At this, Naruto sighed. "You know, you really didn't have to be _that_ dramatic, Sayaka."

"Fucking shit!" cursed Sayaka, a splatter of red paint on her forehead. "That hurt like hell! Did you have to fucking shoot me with my own fucking gun?!"

"I don't know…did you really have to shoot me in the balls?"

Sayaka gave it some thought, before she settled on an answer. "You've got a really good point. Nice catch, by the way…didn't see that coming."

"And you're getting really good at your kekkei genkai." Naruto admitted. "You wanna grab a coffee?"

"Sure, sure…and as usual, I'm treating…again…"

…

[Hokage Tower]

Hiruzen watched as Naruto settled down with Sayaka at the fountain, catching up over a hot cup of coffee and a mochi. From their interactions, they were fairly close while Naruto was in the Saika village. But going back to what he'd just seen in the 'game' they played, he had a better idea of how dangerous Naruto could be if he decided to get serious; at the same time, he had a look at how the Saika Clan could theoretically wage war. With weapons such as the ones the heiress toted around, it could change the balance of the world, likely for the worse. Luckily however, it seemed that only Sayaka would be using them…it was said on her dossier that she was unwilling to part with any weapon as she hand-made them all herself.

Still, what he'd seen of 'sniper-tag' gave him a very good idea to suggest to Iruka. It'd train future shinobi on how to better deal with threats engaging them from long range. "If we choose to make teams in the future, I definitely know that Naruto and Sayaka would make exceptionally dangerous additions," he said to himself, "still, I'll have to wait and see before I make a final decision. But I suppose that this is food for thought on future curriculum."

Hiruzen took a long drag of his pipe. Things were looking _really_ good this time.

…

 _ **A/N: For those of you who don't want music inserts, I may consider not doing it here. Do review, would you kindly? And keep it classy.**_

…

 _ **Vocabulary**_

 _ **Ikko Ikki―Buddhist fanatic monks…correction, they are Buddhist fanatic monks that are militant. Worse news? These are monks with rifles!**_

 _ **Ansatsuken―Literally "assassination fist", which means even Raoh is capable of sneaking around when he wants to kill someone stealthily.**_

…

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **Naruto's art―a technique in art called 'contour drawing' where you have to have a look at a subject and are not allowed to look at the paper while you're drawing it. This can overlap with 'life drawing' where you're more concerned with the inner structure (and accuracy), but contour drawing trains your eyes and your hands to really work together. Naruto however, pretty much started doing this with his carving.**_

 _ **The radio's ringtone―the CODEC ringtone from Metal Gear Solid.**_

 _ **Sayaka's weapons―an M1 Garand sniper that's been shortened, a double-barreled shotgun, and a Walther PPK.**_

 _ **Naruto hiding in a pile of hay―Assassin's Creed**_

 _ **Yours, not mine―I wonder who remembers this line, and from where…?**_


	5. Works of Art

_**A/N: Finally! This story is unfrozen! If only for a limited time. In any case, do read and review would you kindly? And keep it classy.**_

…

[Sata Industrial Park, several days later]

The Sata Industrial Park was a special location in the village with a reputation for churning out a variety of products made from or _for_ steel. It was a small district to be sure, but there were quite a few smiths and potters that made their livelihood in this district. In this spot, lots of artisans made their names due to the number of fine works they made; this ranged from bladesmiths that made knives for sushi chefs and ceramic shops that specialized in teacups and teapots. There were also a number of lumber mills that sold all sorts of wooden products such as furniture and wooden sculptures for indoor living.

In either case, the industrial park was known as the Artist Factory in the village due to the fact that the artisans in Sata had quite a few artists in their number. It was rumored that the smith that made the Nidaime Hokage's Raijin no Ken lived there. In addition, items for different artistic mediums were also manufactured here, though mostly to order. Horsehair brushes for sumi-e, biwa and taiko for musical groups, even chisels for wood work and stone cutting.

As he walked through the streets of the district, Naruto had purchased a sketchbook to draw whatever he saw. Every step he took, his nose told him that he was being followed; it wasn't the camellia oil perfume Sayaka favored…it was white plum. There was also the hint of freshly-sharpened steel wafting into his nose. He paused to allow his followers to catch up.

"Not bad, you two are pretty fast to get this close within ten seconds," he noted, closing his sketchbook and his pencil to find the twins in the rafters, "Though I have to ask, why is Sasuke here when I made a bet that said he can't learn anything from me?"

"You'll have to forgive onii-chan," answered Satsuki, hopping down from the rafters and landing in front of Naruto with her brother, "He's a bit stubborn when he wants something. He's even followed you after class whenever you go practice your katas."

Naruto sighed in exasperation, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why?" he asked, "Why the hell are you so determined to learn my style when I made it clear that I wouldn't teach you? What makes you think I'd want to take you up as a pupil when I'm still an apprentice myself?"

"My ambition." Sasuke answered simply.

"Oh by kami, not _this_ again!" Satsuki interrupted, "Always going on and on about your revenge! It's like that's all you ever care about!"

A glance from Sasuke would have silenced his younger twin…but it looked to Naruto like Satsuki shared her brother's willpower. It also gave him some insight as to what was going on in Sasuke's head. "Vengeance?" he asked, "Is _that_ why you're so determined to learn from me? Just to get revenge on someone that hurt you?"

"I want you to train me to help me kill my brother for killing the rest of my clan!" Sasuke barked.

Naruto widened his eyes in shock, before he narrowed them in anger. "Are you suicidal or just plain stupid? Do you even realize what's wrong with this?"

"Excuse me?"

"Let's say, you _do_ go out on this path for revenge and succeed in killing your brother; what then? Are you going to kill a baby just because it's involved in your clan's murder somehow? When will it all end?" At Sasuke's stunned silence, Naruto decided to continue. "And what about your sister? Have you ever _stopped_ to consider _her_ for a second? Did you ever think that if you die in this quest for revenge, that you'd be leaving her all by herself? DID YOU FORGET THAT YOU'RE ALL SHE HAS LEFT?!"

"And what do you expect me to do? Let my brother get away with his crimes?" Sasuke challenged.

"I'm not saying he should get away with his crimes, I'm just telling you that your priorities are mixed up as hell," Naruto answered, "If you meet your brother again and you fight, then it can't be helped…that's karma. What I'm telling you is that you should be with your sister; protecting and loving her, just as she's trying to do the same for you. Because as you are now, it won't matter how much training I give you: if you fight with nothing but hate in your heart, you'll lose no matter what. And even if you _do_ win, I will personally kill you before your hate makes the world an even worse place."

"I won't do that," Sasuke declared, "I won't let my hate cloud my judgment. But If I don't kill my brother first, he might come to kill _me…_ maybe even Satsuki. If I don't toughen up soon, I'm going find out."

Naruto heaved a heavy sigh, before walking towards a massive concrete ball that was attached to a chain. The amount of deep cracks spider webbing throughout the surface of the ball made it obvious that it was no longer usable. The rust and wear on each link of chain was telling of a long time of service. He grabbed onto a length of chain, and began to spin around, the concrete ball eventually straightening the chain as a counterweight. When Naruto picked up enough speed, he let go of the chain, allowing the wrecking ball to soar through the air, arcing before landing in the junkyard across the district.

Satisfied with the fact that he'd gotten rid of a traffic obstruction, Naruto turned to face a dumbfounded Sasuke and Satsuki with a solemn expression. "That's a basic foundation for my martial arts style. I was able to do that because I can put out a lot of chakra, then my muscles eat it all up, making me super-strong. So unless you can get at least as strong as I am, you won't even be able to do any of the moves right."

…

(Sasuke)

As Naruto walked away into the distance, Sasuke found himself frozen from shock. After watching the show of brute physical power that had just been demonstrated on the wrecking ball, he had no doubt that Uzumaki Naruto would be a deadly adversary. At first, he thought he understood the extent of his power when he smashed the boulder…it was nothing compared to keeping that strength consistent enough to throw something that large and heavy.

Infinite amounts of brute strength condensed into his body seemed to be at the core of his martial arts style. If the Shinobi forces were an armamentarium, and their Kage was the doctor, Uzumaki Naruto would fit in well as an amputation tool. He was likely going to be the member of the team that would be sent in if the job needed to be done at all.

"You're not gonna stop trying to learn from him are you?" Satsuki asked in disbelief.

"Not a chance," Sasuke admitted, "but he pretty much gave me some insight into his style. I guess if he won't teach me correctly, I'll just have to steal some of his moves and develop my own style from there."

…

[Seiryu Forge]

All was quiet at the Seiryu forge, as Naruto walked into the open door. There were many weapons mounted on the walls, some of which he was familiar with. His tutelage under the sage had taught him to be familiar with a wide variety of weapons: polearms of various shapes and sizes, knives and machetes, even a bit of swordplay. While he admittedly enjoyed using the sword, he found that his best weapon was ultimately his body—he simply didn't need a weapon larger than a knife or a machete.

Still, it gave him some valuable insight on Nanto Sei Ken. While Hokuto Shin Ken used chakra to blow up the body to explode from within, Nanto Sei Ken users hacked their victims to bits. It was with this insight that Naruto was able to carve that Kannon statue in the Yamada District using his bare hands.

"Hello?" asked a voice at the counter. It belonged to a girl with her dark hair done up in a pair of buns behind her head. She regarded him with a friendly smile on her face. This was Tenten, who was a year ahead of him in class. "Ah, Naruto-kun! How may I help you?"

"I'm looking for a whetstone to sharpen my knife with," Naruto explained, "you wouldn't happen to carry any would you?"

"We do, in fact. You looking for a synthetic or natural?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't think it really matters, I just don't want my knife to drag when I carve into wood with it again."

"The practical sort, eh?" Tenten asked, turning to the shelves behind her, "Just as well. I use synthetic myself; a bit cheaper. For you? I may have just what you need."

As she rummaged through the shelves, Tenten turned around to produce a two-sided rectangular block mounted on a four-legged stand. Half the block was covered in black, the other in an off-white gray.

"Add oil or water to surface you're about to use before sharpening, and you're good to go," Tenten instructed, "The dark half is coarser, meant for rough-grinding, which means you should grind your edge on it first. The white half has finer grains, which will help you keep the shape of the blade."

"What's the damage?"

"16 ryō," answered Tenten.

Naruto fished out his wallet, pulling it out to find a wad of cash. As he counted his bills, his eyes fell upon a pair of weapons on a stand behind Tenten. They were large, about the size of a forearm, each with a recurve blade, a knuckle guard with integrated blade-catchers, and wooden scales. "Mind if I see those knives behind you?" he asked, "The really big ones."

Recognizing what he spoke of, Tenten turned to pick up the 'knives' from the shelf. "You've got a good eye," she explained, "these were made about a week ago, but a lot of clients found them too small and heavy for practical use. As you can probably tell, they were made as a pair to have an even balance in both hands.

Inspecting the blades close-up, he was able to see that a third of the blade was dulled from the guard up, allowing these "swords" to be used to club enemies with the guard. and that the grips had flat sides with sockets to enable them to fit in the same sheath. Due to his knowledge of different wood types, Naruto knew the lacquered scales on the grips were made of walnut with a very rich grain, made all the more distinctive with a coat of linseed oil. The grips had a gentle curve to allow the wielder to use it in a reverse-grip without compromising on comfortable one-handed use. Overall, a good piece that served as an extension of the fighter's arms; made even easier to use by the fact that the total length of each knife was about the same as a forearm.

"How much for the pair?" Naruto asked.

"Normally, I'd have charged you about 500 ryō for them; but since nobody's buying them, it's at half price now."

Looking through his wallet, Naruto found that he didn't have enough; he barely had enough to buy his whetstone. "Do you take payment in services?"

The incredulous expression on Tenten's face spoke volumes. "You're not thinking of doing a sculpture for a pair of oversized knives are you?"

"Why not?" Naruto asked, "Besides, I'm pretty sure your front door could use a little decoration."

"What would you need?"

"A two big blocks," answered Naruto, "preferably man-sized, and made of metal or stone. If not, then whatever you can find that's big."

…

[Two hours later]

Hibiki Takemura had come home tired. The deal he'd had to make were very exhausting, as the client was uncompromising…and he himself refused to compromise on quality. The many weapons he'd made in his time as a smith were superb in whatever they were customized for. Sushi knives that are just as well-suited to making sashimi, hatchets for daily life, even the odd replica work he'd occasionally done that challenged his skill.

He didn't want to think of the deal now; it was hard to come to an agreement, but at least he'd managed to meet the guy halfway in the design process. Right now, Takemura wanted to come home to his family, relax, and have a good night's sleep before starting on that armor the client wanted. He had a lot of custom fitting to do, and a lot of leatherwork to prepare for. The only good part was that he didn't need as much metal for this; just a lot of reinforced leather, and chainmail links.

As he walked towards the front door to his own shop, Takemura heard a light crunching sound under his sandals. He looked down to see that the floor was covered in a lot of gravel, mixed in with the sound of rock being broken down. _Strange, I didn't know that there was a construction project going on…_

Deciding it was nothing, he continued on until he had a good look up ahead; Tenten was looking at something at the front of the door. He was about to greet her when he noticed that Uzumaki Naruto was hard at work, smashing away at two large blocks at the same time. His dance-like movements were fluid, using his fist in combination with a knife to carve away at the stone. The sculptures were not man-sized, but they were still just large enough to be noticed. Even more of a feat was that Naruto was carving both statues at once, which interested him to no end.

Once Naruto was done with his carving, he stepped back to inspect his work while clapping his hands clean. Takemura made out the mix of leonine and canine features belonging to a komainu standing on a hollow ball while facing each other.

"You think that's payment enough for those knives, senpai?" Naruto asked, Tenten too dumbfounded to speak.

"Well, that depends on what I make of those statues," Takemura answered, earning a shocked yelp from Tenten while getting Naruto's attention.

"Dad!" chided Tenten, "You spooked me!"

Takemura chuckled, tousling his daughter's hair. "Sorry 'bout that, just wanted to see what the commotion was about. But out of curiosity, what was this agreement I'd heard of over knives?"

"Naruto-kun said he wanted those butterfly swords on the shelf," Tenten explained, "He said he couldn't pay for them, so he decided to carve something for us instead."

There was a look of amusement on Takemura's face as he looked at Naruto. "Did he now? Well let's see if they're worth it. If they are, then you can have them for free."

As he moved in closer to inspect the statues, Takemura had a more detailed. Each statue had a rough appearance, with some hard edges here and there; nothing that a good sanding couldn't fix to truly make them look alive. The green coloration of both sculptures was a clear sign that they were made from rather good pieces of jade…likely from the storehouse. "They're still a bit rough, but you've done some good work here so far."

"So are they worth it?"

"Finish them off, clean up your mess, and those swords are yours."

Naruto grinned triumphantly. "Hai, Hibiki-san!"

Sheathing his knife, Naruto began to coat his hands in chakra to smooth out the hard edges of the jade with a gentle touch. Once the statues were finished, the two komainu sculptures looked even livelier as muscles rippled under their bodies. _With that kind of work, all evil spirits will be kept out of the forge,_ Takemura thought.

Satisfied with his work, Naruto took up a broom and a dustpan and began sweeping up the jade dust. A good half-hour was also spent cleaning up bits of jade rubble, all of which were in varying sizes. "Don't throw that dust away," Takemura called out, just as Naruto was about to throw the pieces away, "in fact, don't throw anything away; the broken pieces I can still sell, but the jade dust I can use for polishing stuff."

Naruto handed the dustpan to Takemura, before offering his hand. "So, we cool?"

Takemura had a warm grin on his face as he shook hands with Naruto. "Under the condition that I get to contract you so that we can work together on some projects."

There was silence between the two of them as Naruto processed what it was that he'd just been told. "Are you offering me a job?"

"Your work is really good, it'd be a shame to just let it be hidden away," answered Takemura, "I'll admit, I'm not exactly the kind of person that does well with the fit and finish in my weapons. You help me make my work look more presentable, and I'll give you a part of the commission. Any questions?"

"Yeah, when do I start?" Naruto asked, elated at the prospect.

"I'll send you a message when I'm about to start a new project," answered Takemaru, "In the meantime, I would recommend getting some tools ready. Your taijutsu practice may be good for knocking in the general form, but you're gonna need smaller tools if you're gonna get more detailed. But for now? Enjoy your new swords."

…

[Konoha Wilderness, the end of the week]

It was a weekend, which gave Ino plenty of time to go hunting for Sasuke.

As she trudged through the forest, Ino took care not to ruin her makeup. She knew that he trained hard out in these woods, meaning that she would have a better view of him in action. Her only hope was that Satsuki was not around to drive her away. _Although, it'd be cool to see her training_ with _Sasuke-kun!_

Her intent, was to find out where he trained and potentially make a move on him. Preferably without anyone else around to stop her, or getting to him first. Not exactly sporting, but all's fair in love and war.

Ino's train of thought was interrupted as soon as she heard the sound of exertion nearby, coupled with something striking against wood. Curious, she decided to investigate, moving stealthily through the woods until she came to a clearing. In it, Uzumaki Naruto was carving away at a large stump with a pair of rather large knives…unlike the smaller survival knife he always carried with him. He was shirtless, but thankfully, he was modest enough to wear a pair of indigo, calf-length cargo shorts that did not impede his movements. Still, she could not help but stare at the way his young muscles rippled under his skin, while his large blades acted as an extension of his arms. She even noted the chakra the 'swords' were emitting, making the cutting work easier.

His movements were almost dance-like as he circled around the giant stump, slicing away at it until he had a pear-shaped sculpture sitting in the the bottom of the trunk. Ino could make out a chin from the carving, which went below a round head, and a bulge in what appeared to be the front of the sculpture, and some kind of antenna. She could not help but be mesmerized by how his steps flowed around in the sculpture, cutting away until there were eight small 'pillars' forming the base of the work.

Once he was done carving out the general shape of his sculpture, Naruto sheathed his two larger knives, and drew his smaller survival knife to begin cutting in the details. He circled around the statue at high speeds gouging and carving away at the surface of the wood, making smaller details. As he continued to define the shape of his sculpture with the tantō, Ino began to recognize the unmistakable form of Jizō, the bodhisattva that protected children. The rings on his shakujō, and the jewel in his hand were carved onto the statute, as was the bodhisattva's halo; she could even make out his trademark peaceful expression. Soon, the scoop surrounding the Jizō was carved into the petals of an open lotus, turning the sculpture into a shrine. anyone who stepped in its presence was welcomed to pray before him.

"Enjoy the show?" he finally asked, using his knife to carve away the name of the bodhisattva at the base of the trunk with large characters.

Still floored by what she'd just seen, Ino tried to find the right words. "I…I-I-I…was just looking for Sasuke-kun and…and, uh…" She calmed herself, before settling on a different train of thought. "That was just incredible! You just made this sculpture in about half an hour!"

"Thanks, I think that's one of my best so far from off the top of my head," agreed Naruto, picking up a large block of wood nearby and hammering it into the ground with his fist. Once it was driven deep enough in the ground, the improvised plinth for offerings was completed. "That Kannon in the Yamada District being another one."

Ino turned to Naruto with her eyes wide in shock. " _You're_ the one that carved Kannon on the fountain?!"

"Along with Neji," Naruto admitted, picking up a towel to wipe off the sweat, "It was part of a bet to try and make him nicer to his cousins."

"Wow…I-I really don't know what to say," stammered Ino, "Except you _really_ did a great job on that fountain. I mean, Neji did a good job too, with that tiger, obviously; but your work…I mean…wow!"

"I've still a long ways to go, but I'm trying to get better at my work."

Ino looked at Naruto with a hint of confusion as he put on his tank-top. "My mom already raves about your work, and she's a qualified art critic. How can it get better?"

"Something the monks told me as I was growing up: you never stop learning until you die," answered Naruto, "now if you'll excuse me, I'm going home. I'm already done with my practice for the day."

Blushing as Naruto walked past her, Ino could not help but have a better glimpse at his body. It was only starting to develop, but there was definitely a good amount of muscle under his skin. _Looks like that training really paid off…_ she thought to herself.

Shaking off all other thoughts, Ino paid her respects to the effigy of Jizo that Naruto had just carved, promising to come back later with an offering. New sculpture or not, a shrine still needed to be prayed at. Once she was satisfied, she continued on her hunt for Sasuke, trying to forget the fact that she'd just found Naruto even remotely attractive.

…

[Elsewhere in the forest]

Satsuki sat atop a tree branch, having just watched the whole thing unfold below her.

Ever since Sasuke had taken to spying on Uzumaki to 'steal' his moves, she watched as he tried to emulate his kicking moves as a basis for his own style. After that, she decided to see if anything interested her even a little. The sculpting of the giant tree stump he'd been going on routine with seemed to also be a weapons drill from her eyes. _If that's what he does to practice, I'd like to see what happens when he gets serious._

With the knowledge she'd gained from watching him at work with his short swords, Satsuki began to memorize his moves to for future use. Naruto was right; without the brute force to actually pull off any of his moves correctly, she and Sasuke may as well give up trying to learn from him at all. However, she could still learn to pick up on the basic moves to serve as a foundation for her own personal fighting style.

While Sasuke learned a lot of kicking moves, she would be picking up on proper swordplay to incorporate into her own style. Until then, Satsuki would be learning to fight with her fists in tandem with better footwork.

As Naruto left, she chose this moment to go home. She and Sasuke would be comparing notes with each other after today. They would not approach the level of mastery he'd managed to reach, but at least they could find some common ground with each other. She could see herself building their own dojo from scratch with Naruto's fighting style as a guideline.

…

 _ **A/N: And there you have it, the latest chapter in "Sage of Fists" in a while. I'll admit, not a lot of action, but plenty of artwork done. My apologies on it being short again, but at least another chapter done. I'll be sure to pick it up as far a speed goes.**_

…

 _ **Vocabulary**_

 _ **Armamentarium—all the medicines, equipment, and techniques available to a doctor.**_

 _ **Komainu—the stone lion-dog guardians you see outside the door of some residences.**_

…

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **None yet**_ …


	6. Artists

_**A/N: My apologies on the delayed update…you can blame Warframe, Destiny 2, and America's Got Talent for that. New chapter, and a new self-imposed challenge. Since I'm rather slow with my updates, I decided to from now on, try adding up to 1k words within 2 days, to the chapter of any story I choose…as per usual with my rules, I won't stop at any less than 4 or 5k words per chapter.**_

 _ **do read and review would you kindly? And keep it classy.**_

…

[Seiryu Forge]

The rapid 'tap-tap-tap' of a hammer striking a chisel could be heard in a corner of the forge as Naruto went to work carving the details into a tantō blade. Weeks of working with the Hibiki family had taught him the art of engraving patterns onto various surfaces. He found himself particularly enjoying the intricate curves of scrollwork patterns, looping around like vines to give the piece life. In addition, he'd since increased his toolset using a variety of carving tools for different materials to make such patterns; this included cutters for engraving on metal and stone surfaces that he'd made himself from rods made of something called 'carbide' which was harder than steel.

Smooth, flowing, scrollwork lines could be seen flowing midway up the blade to give it an elegant appearance as it terminated in a blooming camellia motif in the middle of the blade. It was a personal commission from Sayaka—a blade given to her for use as a last-ditch weapon should things come too close for comfort. To ensure that it was able to retain its function for self-defense, Naruto made sure to avoid cutting too deep into the blade; just enough to make the lines more pronounced.

In the two months since he'd been taken under Takemura's wing, he'd been learning different artistic media…most recently of which was leatherwork. It was almost like taking a drawing, and bringing it to life by carving it out or burning the image. Much of his work was done with carbide cutters of differing shapes and sizes; some with conical heads for fine lines, others with chisel heads for flat sides. Still didn't stop Naruto from using his own chakra sometimes to knock in the rough details.

While he'd improved significantly on his artwork, Naruto hadn't let up on his training in Hokuto Shin Ken. He'd made sure his form was spot-on with every repetition he'd memorized as he performed his kata. At the same time, the odd 'sniper tag' session he had with Sayaka helped hone his hunter's instinct; true, he always beat her, but in all fairness, she was getting better.

"So how goes my orders?" asked a voice right next to him.

 _Ah, speak of the devil,_ he thought, breaking off from his current project. "Well, your latest one's pretty much done," he stated absently, before handing the tantō to Sayaka, "Have a look."

He turned around to watch Sayaka inspecting the blade, admiring the craftsmanship that went into the design. "It wasn't easy," he noted, "I had to be _real_ gentle to avoid hitting the core."

"Yeah well, I know you do good work and all," she answered absentmindedly, "And my other commissions?"

Naruto reached out to a nearby shelf to pull out her weapons. The scope of her battle rifle had engraved clouds, while carved scrollwork lines and lotus motifs decorated the front end of the wooden foregrip and the shoulder rest. The double-barreled shotgun and her sidearm were given a similar treatment, making an handful of simple weapons into deadly works of art.

Sayaka whistled as she inspected her weapons. "Now _that's_ nice work."

"For the amount of money you paid, only the best." Naruto beamed, wiping the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand.

"Well look who's turned mercenary all of a sudden," Sayaka replied, a smug smirk on her face, "What, your education at the monastery didn't teach you about the evils of money?"

"So says the little rich girl with all the fancy toys," Naruto jabbed back, checking his shelves for his other contracts, "Besides, I was only _taught_ at a monastery; doesn't mean I _have_ to be a monk. By the way, since I've been working here almost daily, is the guy I made the bet with still going to the temple regularly?"

Sayaka's grin widened with a slightly sadistic sense of joy. "Yep! Saw him through my binoculars just an hour ago."

"Is he donating generously?"

"Let's put it to you this way: he went in angry, then came back out even _angrier_."

Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, let's hope he's got the sense to set his wrath aside, for his own good."

"You're telling me. It's like he's got it out for his cousins or something."

"Yeah, I noticed that too," Naruto sighed, turning to face Sayaka, "Honestly, it's like they did something wrong to him. I tell ya, unless he changes that attitude of his, all that bad karma's gonna pile up to the point that there'll be nothing he can do to get himself out of it."

"Totally," Sayaka agreed, nodding in understanding, "You have any other projects you gotta finish?"

"Nope, what's up?"

Sayaka seemed to fidget for a moment before she quickly recomposed herself. "Well, I decided to have a little change of pace for today…so instead of the usual sniper tag session, how about we have a spot of coffee before we head home?"

"Sounds good," Naruto answered, hanging his apron on the coat rack, "I just gotta get my commission from Takemura-san, and I'll be off my shift."

"While we're at it, why don't I join you guys?" asked Tenten from the end of the hall, "I gotta get out of here for some fresh air anyway."

Naruto turned to face Sayaka with a question. "Is that okay?" he asked, earning a huff from the Saika heiress.

"Sure, why the hell not?" she asked herself, "Just get your shit done, and we'll be on our way."

"I just gotta let dad know where I'm gonna go, and we'll be ace!" Tenten chirped, running off to find her father.

…

[Haruyama Sweets, Yamada District Pharmacy Quarter]

The Pharmacy Quarter was a place where herbs and spices could be found in appreciable quantities—however, it was also known to be frequented by Aburame clansmen to sell honey used for a lot of sweets. Coupled with the large amounts of tea and coffee sold in the quarter in various stands and restaurants, and you had a location that's known to be the 'Tea House of Konoha.'

Haruyama Sweets was one such place that sold both tea and coffee in varying forms. It was a large coffee shop that also churned out lots of pastries that made it a popular destination for kids and adults of all ages. In addition to owning a tea and coffee farm, the owner had a deal with someone in the Flour Quarter to ensure a consistent supply of wheat and rice flour, which benefited both parties. He effectively became the king of the Pharmacy Quarter when he collaborated with the other herbal specialists that helped diversify his variety of offerings in his renowned coffee house.

In addition to coffee and tea, the place was also the scene for a lot of different events due to the large stage that was built into the back wall. Normally, there'd be a band or a singer with a gig there, but sometimes there were poets, philosophers, plays, even the odd morality speech or two. One thing that was consistent about the place was that there was always something planned for the day's activities. People had to book in advance to use the stage—especially with its reputation of being the starting point of legends with the annual talent show.

Today however, was still judging session of said talent show; where Meru-B, Hi-D Kurumu, Hao-hi Manderu, and Jimon Kaoru had come from all parts of the world to scrutinize acts that came on stage. Those that won the talent contest got an act in one venue they had a contract with that year, as well as over a million ryō in prize money. However, some acts never won, but still gained the attention of talent scouts in attendance.

The act that was on stage was a local girl with a musical instrument called a 'ukelele' with a somewhat rough voice, and who won the contest last year. Still, it was a pleasant experience for the audience to see a cute little girl singing. As her song had come to an end, the round of applause from the crowd roared throughout the coffee shop. She was last year's winner, and she'd come home as part of her tour around the world.

"It's a surprise she managed to make it this far," Sayaka noted offhand over whooping and clapping, "Her voice is a little too broken for my taste."

"Talent comes in all forms, I guess," Naruto added.

"Honestly, I don't think she deserved to win," Tenten said, watching as the little girl left the stage, "Don't get me wrong, she's talented; she just needs more time to get better."

"True that," Sayaka finished. As she spoke, another talent came on stage—a tall, well-built, dark-skinned man from Kaminari no Kuni with big lips. He had an infectious smile on his face as he stood in front of the microphone. The jokes he fired out at the crowd were loud, fast, and never failed to elicit laughter from the audience.

"So Sayaka-chan, those weapons of yours," Tenten started, changing the subject, "I saw Naruto-kun working on them. You made them yourself?"

"'Course I did!" Sayaka bragged, beaming with pride, "First thing any Saika worth their salt learns is how to make their own weapons, as well as how to handle them safely."

"Can I…"

"Nope!" Sayaka answered blithely.

Tenten frowned slightly at her. "But…"

"Clan law states that outsiders aren't allowed to use our weapons," Sayaka explained slightly more seriously, "Really, I _will_ be in deep shit if I let you use 'em. Something about them falling into the wrong hands."

As the crowd enjoyed the stand-up comedian's material, Naruto picked up the scent of a new arrival. It was faint, hidden in the ambient smell of tea, sweets, and coffee, but he could clearly smell a hint of burnt tobacco in the air. _Okay, I'm too far from the Hokage Tower for this to be the old man,_ he thought, _so that leaves…_

Naruto sat up, scanning the crowd to see his sensei walking casually towards their table. Funnily enough, the sage wasn't puffing away at one of his cigarettes; likely due to the 'no smoking' policy that was enforced by the establishment. Until he'd turned ten, his master had never smoked in his presence…only doing so when he was a good distance away from Naruto to enjoy his tobacco fix.

"Sensei!" he called out, getting the sage's attention.

"And how are you doing, Naruto?" he asked, before recognizing Sayaka on sight, "Has he been keeping up his training?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Sayaka noted, taking a sip of her coffee, "That's actually most of his time, as a matter of fact."

"When he's not working for my dad, of course," Tenten added as she bit down on her bun.

The sage smirked in amusement as he eyed Naruto. "Quite the player aren't ya, boy?"

Naruto blushed in embarrassment. "Anyway Sensei, what're you doing here today?"

"I just wanted to check up on you, see how you were doing without me," answered the sage, "That, and I wanted to see if you were interested in learning a new trick."

Naruto nearly dropped his tea, but honed reflexes from years of training under the sage had allowed him to catch the cup before it fell to the floor. "A new trick?" he parroted.

"Yes, and something to challenge your artwork," nodded the sage, "But not today, you're clearly enjoying your time off work for now. I'll see you tomorrow after class."

As the sage left, the winner of the talent show was announced. While the comedian had lost, he was still among the top ten best acts. Everyone else lost to a local ventriloquist girl with a rabbit puppet who was pretty, funny, and a very good singer. It also helped her case that she was Meru-B's favorite act of all from the get-go.

…

[Konoha Ninja Academy, the next day]

The students waited outside in the stands, watching as Iruka set up the wooden dummy for target practice. Up until today, it was mostly exercises to keep the greenhorns fit; obstacle courses and the spar at the end of the week. After proving more than once that he had no concerns over fitness, Naruto was exempted from normal obstacle course sessions; this was due to the fact that he currently held one of the fastest times in the academy. The only people in his class that were in the same grouping as him were the Uchiha twins and Inuzuka Kiba.

Sparring sessions were a different story however, as Naruto was not included in most matches. This had less to do with making most of the other students look bad, and more to do with safety issues regarding his strength. Even if he were doing his best to limit the strength behind his blows, it was still too dangerous for any student other than a clan heir or heiress to be sparring with him.

This time however, the lesson was for target practice, as he pulled out a box of dulled shuriken and another for kunai. "Okay class, here's how we're going to do this," Iruka explained, setting up the range, "You're each going to take up five shuriken and kunai, and you're going to try and throw them at the dummy. You get points according to how tight your grouping is, how close you are to hitting dead-center, and whether you hit the big target or the smaller one. Any questions?"

Sakura was the first to raise her hand. "Uh, sensei? How much is each target worth?"

"Points scored on the larger target are exactly as they sound; you get ten points if you hit the bull's eye," Iruka continued, "However, since the smaller target is harder to hit, you get double the points for each hit you score. The point of this exercise is to see how well you hit a target, as well as to teach you the vulnerable points on their body. Ideally, you want to hit the head, but it's always easier to hit the center mass. Any other questions?"

Iruka nodded to himself, satisfied with the lack of answers. "Okay then, when I call up your name, step up and take a shot at this with the kunai and shuriken."

There was no need for Naruto to watch the target practice session, as he could hear the results just fine. Instead, he chose to busy himself with a block of wood he'd found en route to the training ground. He'd already found his subject, and was carving away at it with his tantō; as long as he wasn't carving indoors, the janitors couldn't chew his ass off about wood shavings on the floor.

As the session went along, he was able to tell which student was civilian-born, and which was from a shinobi family. Civilians didn't do too well, their shots often missing by a wide margin…though there were a few that had a grasp on the lesson, having thrown darts in the past. Shinobi children did much better, their tosses at least hitting the dummy; however, some were simply unskilled at throwing, and so they often hit the dummy's arms.

The clan heirs and heiresses, as a whole, were more interesting enough in how they threw their projectiles that Naruto took a breather from his carving to watch. At first glance, Shikamaru was very lazy in his approach, throwing his kunai and shuriken randomly, and scoring low. In reality however, he was targeting the least obvious weak points first—if he'd aimed at a real live target, those would have been crippling shots to the knees and elbows, followed by taking his time for kill shots to the center mass.

The Uchiha twins showed how different they really were in how they threw. Sasuke was much more direct, his first two shots going for the eyes with shuriken before scoring dead-center headshots the rest of the way. On the other hand, Satsuki was much trickier, deflecting her shots off the ones she'd thrown in her opening salvo, turning the target into a pincushion as they were hit from the front and back. Either way, Naruto felt that the saying "there is no kill like overkill" was an apt description for the twins.

Like Shikamaru, the Hyūga sisters made throws that weren't immediately fatal, earning them a low score, but were a lot more dangerous than they appeared. This was because their shots were aimed at areas that would have normally contained tenketsu points. From what Naruto could tell, if all their hits connected and were laced with chakra, the victim would die an extremely painful death.

Sayaka absolutely refused to touch the kunai and shuriken, calling them a barbarian's weapon; opting instead to summon her favorite rifle. It resembled a larger version of the carbine she shot at Naruto with, but it came with a removable 20-round box magazine and a scope. She took her rifle, set herself up in a prone position from far away, and scored ten headshots in quick succession with her gun, putting a hole in the dummy's head.

After the dummy was replaced, Ino, Chōji, Kiba, and Shino were more straightforward with their shots, aiming for the highest score possible. Still, they all did better than most, their shots staying within the targets with a tight grouping. "Uzumaki Naruto? You're up!" Iruka called out.

Naruto sighed, sheathing his knife while leaving his carving behind as he walked up to the counter. He picked up a stack of shuriken and a handful of kunai, tossing them in the air to test out their weight and balance. Satisfied, Naruto began by throwing shuriken, scoring five hits at the bullseye in the center mass; because there wasn't a lot of weight behind the shuriken, they simply embedded deep into the dummy. When he threw the kunai however, he literally tore the dummy apart—he threw the heavier blades harder, ripping off the dummy's arms before its head was obliterated with the remaining three shots.

Students stared as Naruto walked over to his seat, ready to resume his carving. As he reached out to his sculpture, a delicate hand scooped up the unfinished work.

"Yoink!" taunted Satsuki, inspecting his work with an appraising eye with her brother, "Well, this looks new…in fact, I don't remember seeing this pose at all. That, and you're getting faster."

The sculpture in question was of Satsuki in an acrobatic pose, dressed in form-fitting leather clothes and a hood over her head. She also wore a pair of large goggles, while swinging a pair of kodachi in her hands. Sasuke was behind her in the middle of a sprint, a pair of knives in his hands, wearing a high-collared coat that hid the lower half of his face with a pair of goggles over his eyes. Overall, the twins both looked like they were dressed for speed and stealth.

"I decided to try making something out of my head this time," Naruto commented, "Since you two just won't stop watching me as I go through my drills, it's only fitting that I see you both like a pair of thieves."

"And we'd do it again too," Satsuki admitted, almost shamelessly, "I wanna help my brother get stronger so that when the day comes, he'll be ready to face our older brother."

Naruto sighed in resignation. "Fine then, not like I can stop you. But you'd better keep in mind that I can't teach you how to do the moves properly."

"Why not?" asked Satsuki, genuinely curious.

"Hokuto Shin Ken is probably _the_ strongest taijutsu style in the world," Naruto explained, "It's so powerful that there's only one successor to it; anyone else would either have to unlearn the style, or die. So if I taught you two properly, the three of us would have to duke it out to see who had the right to be true successor."

"Well, no worries there," Satsuki assured, "We're only copying the basics of your style so we get a good foundation. We won't touch the more advanced techniques; we're just looking to develop on our own after that."

Naruto appraised Satsuki carefully, trying to see any hint of a lie from her. _No harm, no foul,_ he thought to himself. "Okay, I've got no work after school tomorrow, so you can look for me then and we can do kata practice together. Just make sure you don't try to learn any of the more advanced techniques from me, and we'll be good."

"Sure thing," Satsuki chirped gleefully, before turning her attention to her brother, "Right nii-chan?"

Sasuke snorted lightly before waving his hand noncommittally. Iruka called for the students to come back to the classroom. "I really wonder if your brother could do with a daily visit to the monastery," Naruto mused, watching Sasuke's retreating form.

"You couldn't get him to go if you somehow convinced him there was a statue of Bishamonten there!" Satsuki declared, laughing in humor as they followed the rest of the class.

Naruto turned his attention to her. "Why not? I _already_ did it once; just ask Neji-senpai."

After doing a double-take, Satsuki regarded Naruto with a confused expression. "How?"

"I beat him at an art contest in the Yamada District," answered Naruto, a mysterious half-smile on his face, "Now he's going to church every day, and donating very generously. Right now, I'm wondering if that same treatment will help pull out that stick jammed so far up his ass."

Snorting in amusement, Satsuki nodded in agreement. "We'll see. But if he comes home with a shittier attitude than Neji, I'm gonna kill you dead—I don't care how strong you are."

"I'll take you up on that."

…

[Konoha Ninja Academy, after school]

Students began shuffling out of the classroom as lessons had come to an end. Naruto looked around to find the sage leaning up against a tree, puffing away at one of his cigarettes. He ran towards his master excitedly, beaming in anticipation. "Sensei!"

"So, how were today's lessons?" asked the sage, smothering his cigarette against the tree bark before flicking it into a nearby trash can.

"They were okay, it's just that I remember exactly why I hate math."

The sage sported an amused grin on his face as he chuckled lightly. "Well, let's see if you've got the strength for what I have in mind for you to learn."

As the two of them left the school grounds, Naruto followed the sage towards the nearby forest. He could feel the anticipation building up as he wondered what his master had to teach him. Still, he was curious as to why they were in the woods. "Sensei, what're we doing here?"

"Looking for a boulder," the sage explained, walking on, "I know that your teacher could make boulders himself, but I want to use natural stone so I can show it to you properly."

The blonde eyed his master curiously as he followed him into a clearing with a massive, spherical boulder sitting in the middle. It was roughly six feet wide in diameter, with a reddish coloration from high concentrations of iron. Overall, a very good amount of raw material for any work that was supposed to be red. "So, what do you think of the idea of sculpting something without even seeing what you're doing?" asked the sage.

"I'd have to say you're asking to make a whole lotta mistakes," Naruto answered honestly.

The sage snorted as he walked towards the boulder. "Normally, you'd be right. You _do_ want to check up on what you're doing to make sure you're doing it right. However, what I'm going to show you will be very hard to do: I'm going to sculpt inside that boulder, breaking into the surface only once."

Looking at the sage as though he'd grown a second head, Naruto was speechless. The sage stood next to the boulder, placing a hand on its rough surface while closing his eyes in thought. For the next few minutes, the apprentice watched as the teacher was frozen in place, deep in meditation before winding up slightly to punch the boulder, revealing the image beneath as it exploded into shards.

The sculpture depicted a tall, beautiful, regal-looking woman dressed in a kimono standing proud with a sheathed sword balanced on the floor in front of her. In the offhand, she held a small, thick, and ornately-decorated disc that stood out by having the most reflective surface in the piece. She wore a simple necklace around her neck that featured a magatama jewel, and chopsticks in a bun that flowed into waist-length hair. A halo ring was attached to her back as she looked ahead with a hopeful expression on her face.

"Amaterasu?" Naruto asked, appraising the sculpture, "That's actually very good. How'd you do it?"

"By channeling my chakra into the boulder, I was able to form a cavity to work with," explained the sage, "After that, it became a matter of focusing on an image in my head, and using the chakra I put into the boulder to start sculpting with my mind's eye."

"So what's the lesson?" inquired Naruto.

"Take a fist-sized piece of rock, and try doing what I did," the sage instructed, handing Naruto a fist-sized piece of rock, "I'd start with simple shapes like cubes and spheres before you work on anything complicated. After you're done with rock, I'd start doing it on wood. Then, when you get faster and more confident, as well as more accurate, I'll start teaching you some serious moves to really start you off next time I see you."

…

 _ **A/N: You can blame "Forged in Fire" and "Man At Arms: Reforged" for the introduction of smithy terms and ideas in many of my stories. Those guys really know how to make their blades…especially Illya. That, and AGT for the coffee shop.**_

 _ **For the sage himself, he'll somewhat be a combination of Kasumi Kenshiro and Kenshiro 20XX. Hence the smoking.**_

 _ **Anyway, not a lot of action here, but I promise we will move a little faster after this chapter.**_

…

 _ **Vocabulary**_

 _ **Bishamonten―the Japanese version of the bodhisattva Vaisravana, depicted as an armored god of war with a pagoda in one hand, and a staff or spear in the other. He's pretty much seen as a god of justice, a punisher of evil-doers.**_

…

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **Meru-B, Hi-D Kurumu, Hao-hi Manderu, Jimon Kaoru—the judging panel of America's Got Talent 2016-2017: Mel B, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, and Simon Cowell.**_

 _ **Ukelele Girl—Grace Vanderwaal, winner of America's Got Talent Season 11. Opinions about her are based on my mom's idea that she should not have won.**_

 _ **Kaminari comedian—Preacher Lawson, a finalist in AGT Season 12.**_

 _ **Girl ventriloquist—Darci Lynne Farmer, who as of this writing had just won AGT Season 12 just last night.**_

 _ **Sayaka's favorite rifle—an M-14 rifle modified for sniper duty, with walnut furniture.**_


End file.
